There Is A Happy Land
by CoffeeHoe
Summary: The visitors of Silent Hill have now crossed paths, and begin to learn much more about the town, as well as the people who have survived it. Keep Your Friends Close. And Your Monsters Closer.
1. Chapter 1: It's Always The Silent Ones

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 1

It's Always The Silent Ones

"_There is a happy land, far, far away.__  
__Where saints in glory stand, bright, bright as day."_

_1976_

The gravel underneath his boots crunched as Travis made his way back up the road. The thick fog reduced to a slight mist that allowed the sun rays to pierce through. Taking a look back from where he had come from, he saw nothing but the town in the distance and the oak trees that surrounded it. He continued to walk. Then he saw his truck. Parked in the middle of the road. Where it all began.

Sighing to himself, still full of fright and disbelief he took another look back at the town as his hand sunk into his pocket. With the clink of metal he pulled out his truck key, grasped it tight in the palm of his hand and allowed his lips to curve into a smile.

As he finally reached his Ambrose truck, he opened the door, that caused gentle beeping to emerge from inside. Once safe, and back into the driving seat, the beeps stopped as soon as he shut the door, allowing him to look into the rear-view mirror. He saw her. Alessa. Holding a bundle of brown cloth, with a small, pink hand coming from the fabric. A baby.

He again smiled. Looking down at his trucks speedometer, he decides to reset it. Much like his life, he wanted to start anew. Turning the key that he had put into the ignition his engine came alive, and without looking back he drove away.

Leaving Alessa. Standing alone, and holding the small bundle.

_1983_

Harry looked down at the baby he cradled in his arms, no longer his Cheryl, but someone else too. Two people merged together to create a new life. The one he held in his arms.

As Cybil lovingly caressed the babies head it let out a gurgle and opened its big brown eyes. In shock, Cybil and Harry both looked at each other and smiled.

She was safe. And here with them. No longer would she, Alessa, have to feel any more pain. Harry would do anything for this child, Cheryl or not, he would protect this single light he had left in his life now. Make her happy.

Even if it killed him.

Cybil patted his back in comfort and once again smiled. Her blue eyes full tears but she would never let them fall.

Even if it killed her.

_1993_

"Please…please do something for me" Mary whispered, unable to raise her voice because of the burning pain in her throat. But her last words were nothing but filled with love but also heartbreak. She would never see him again. She wanted the last memory of them together to be special. As it was their special place. She handed him the letter. "Go on with your life"

"In my restless dreams, I see that town. Silent Hill."

Laura walked through the graveyard, listening to the footsteps of James from behind her. In some ways it gave her ease. Knowing she wasn't alone in the fog. She hadn't spoken to James, even though her mind wondered what he was going to do. All he had done was read the letter, his face emotionless throughout, and then smiled. The saddest smile Laura had ever seen. And ever will.

As they both came to the graveyard gate Laura shyly held James hand. But didn't speak. Neither of them did. She just held his hand as they walked through the gate together.

And into the fog.

_2000_

"Is that the end?" Heather asked herself, walking away from the dead monster. The dead God. "I guess it's time to roll the credits"

After everything, learning who she was, how she was born, it still didn't make her happy. Nothing would make her happy. The only thing she loved the most in her life was gone. And he was never coming back. Bowing her head so she was looking at the ground she swayed, then allowed the tears to fall from her eyes.

"Dad…" She cried, and then kneeled on the floor. She wanted to stay there forever. And cry. Just like she would when she was a child, and her Dad would come. Wiped away her tears, and tell her. 'Everything is going to be okay'. And she would believe him. "Dad…"

Sniffling and taking deep breaths, she stopped her tears. She got up, and slowly walked towards the darkness. Then stopped. And took a look back. She could hear the wail of a newborn.

"You want me to use your real name? What was it again…?" Douglas asked.

"Cheryl" She smiled "The name my Father gave me"

"You going to let your hair colour grow back too?" He asked, gesturing towards his own grey streaked hair.

"I don't know" She grinned and flicked her hand, as if she was flicking long locks of hair "Don't you think blondes have more fun?"

Cheryl knelt down and touched her Father's gravestone. He was now at peace. He wouldn't have to worry about her anymore. But, there was something Cheryl wished she had told him when he was still alive. But, with the connection they both had, her Dad probably already knew. After all, he was the smartest man Cheryl had ever known. And she couldn't thank him enough for what he did for her. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

"You made me happy, Dad"

_2001_

Henry handed over the bouquet of flowers with a smile, the sweet smell spreading throughout the room like wildfire.

"Thanks" Eileen smiled along with a nervous laugh. She looked at the flowers, happy to see and smell something pleasant. They were beautiful. After all, Henry had an eye for natural beauty. "Awww"

With a sigh she continued to speak, placing the flowers on her lap.

"Guess I'll have to find a new place to live, huh?" Henry nodded in response. They couldn't go back to that apartment building, even if it was no longer infested with the souls of the dead, they simply couldn't. They wouldn't be able to forget.

But, now, they were safe. Both of them, they had survived. Henry couldn't imagine if anything had happened to Eileen, it would forever be on conscious. But he couldn't think like that. She was safe, maybe had a few scratches and a broken arm, but safe.

Eileen picked up the flowers and brought them to her nose. For a moment she had a worried expression on her face, and then turned to Henry.

"You don't talk much do you?" She asked jokingly.

"No. Not really" He then smiled in response.

_2007_

"Josh…" Alex saw the small figure that had been poured from the monsters ripped open stomach. On the floor. Motionless. He crept forward and looked over his dead brother's body. "Josh…"

He slowly kneeled down. His brother looked so small. So fragile. He had lost everyone. He had lost everyone even though he never truly had them in the first place. He was an unloved child, and he envied his brother. But he didn't want this. He would give anything to change what had happened. "I'm sorry, Josh…"

He looked away, unable to look at his brother's corpse. For a moment he shut his eyes tightly, stopping the tears that were building up. Gritting his teeth he looked at the family ring he held in his hand. All because of this…

"I never meant for this to happen" He lifted his brother's head up carefully, and placed the silver chain around his neck, allowing the ring to rest on Josh's chest. Alex then, removed the flashlight from his chest. The flashlight, that he had given Josh when he had nightmares, so he could turn it on if he felt scared. But, that was a long time ago. "Here buddy…take this…"

He placed it on Josh's numb chest. Now, he will always feel safe. Always. Tears welled up in his eyes, until they finally fell. How could he forget about his brother? What he had done? How? How?

"I forgot…" He whispered. He made a fist and dug his nail into his flesh. "Josh…"

He stayed there, unable to think, unable to talk, mourning the loss. His brother was gone. Gone. Gone. And so, he sat and cried. Like he had never cried before.

"I'm sorry…" With his final words Alex stood up and took a deep breath in. He turned away, his back to his brother, and walked into the blackness.

Leaving Joshua alone with his flashlight.

With a loud scrape, the hatch moved to one side. Alex, still shaking, then lifted himself from the gutter. His leg was bleeding uncontrollably and hurt so much. He dare not lean on it in case it would snap. The world around him was a dark shade of gray, hiding all the buildings and road.

With a few heavy grunts he saw a black figure in the alleyway, a familiar figure that he thought he wouldn't see again. It was Elle. He smiled and limped quickly across to her.

"Elle. You're okay?" He asked while holding her arms so he could see her face.

"Yeah. I think so" With a sigh of relief she wrapped her arms around him. She hugged him tightly, closing her eyes, unable to think of what he had been through. Elle was happy. Alex was with her, and that's all she could have asked for.

Letting him go she looked at his bloodstained clothing, his leg, his extremely pale face.

"What did you see in there?" She asked.

"What I needed to" He replied.

They stared at each other. Alex's eyes were full of pain. Unable to see him like that Elle embraced him again, wanting to take all his sorrow away.

Afterwards, they began to walk through the fog together. Alex's arm was around Elle's shoulder as she helped him walk and keep balance. They left everything behind. And didn't look back.

"Smile!"

_2011_

"I'm sorry, Frank…" Murphy sighed. His head, looking down at the tile floor, where Frank had laid. Bleeding. Barely alive.

"It wasn't you" A voice whispered. A hand then softly landed on his shoulder. Murphy looked up and saw Cunningham. He shook his head.

"It was my fault he died" He stayed on his knees for a moment. Then, finally stood up.

"Pendleton…" Cunningham whispered.

"I'm so sorry…" Murphy could still see Franks face, he died, because of his own selfish act. Cunningham looked down, unable to make eye contact, then, raised her head.

"I forgive you" She opened her arms, and hugged Murphy. It was her apology to him. She was sorry for blaming him, threatening him, almost killing him. She needed to be at peace with herself. She now knew. Something she had been chasing for years had now finally been caught. She had hated this man for so long, and now, all she wanted to do was curl into a ball and cry. But, she didn't.

Feeling her warmth Murphy closed his eyes, his breath steady and no longer afraid. He accepted what he had done. And with that, the town allowed Murphy to leave. He felt raindrops against his skin, the fresh smell of oak and the cool air.

Opening his eyes he saw that both him and Cunningham were back outside, standing next to the crashed bus. As if nothing happened. Outside. Not in the fog covered town.

"Is this…?" He asked looking around. Still unsure of his surroundings. "Are we free?"

"Yeah" Cunningham answered. She looked around, at the tree's, the water and Murphy. "I think we are"

"…All units respond, Ryall Prison DOC bus involved in a TC, fatalities, eastbound 73, fire and rescue en route…"

The radio cut out. Murphy raised his head from the radio that was attached on Cunningham's belt.

"I should go" He said.

"I guess you better" Cunningham nodded. It was the right thing to do. This man, no matter what mistakes he had made, he was a good man. He began to walk away but she stopped him. "Wait, where you going?"

Murphy looked away as if he was in deep thought, then turned back around to face her.

"There's some place I gotta be…" He replied. Cunningham nodded. She watched him as he made his way through the rain. But, she needed to say something. The final farewell and thank you.

"Murphy, wait!" She called out.

He once again, unfazed, turned around.

"Thank you" She said.

"For what?" He asked.

"The truth" And, for the first time, in a long time, he smiled. And nodded. Then walked away. Anne watched him. Standing in the rain, no longer feeling the burning hatred she felt towards him. She now knew the truth of what happened to her Father. No, no more hatred.

Not for Murphy, anyway.


	2. Chapter 2: A Forgotten Friend

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 2

A Forgotten Friend

_2011_

Cheryl was parked outside a busy 24 hours-a-day diner. The car park was full of filthy trucks, cars and a few motorbikes. She glanced over to her passenger's seat that was covered in documents and file folders. Huffing with frustration she took another sip of her coffee. She had been sat in the car for almost an hour now, and he still hadn't shown up. By now, maybe she should have started to doubt herself. But, no. She would wait all night if she had to, or, another hour.

"C'mon" She whispered to herself as she tapped the steering wheel with her thumb. Straightening her messy bob with her spare hand she watched as people passed her open window. The smell of bacon, coffee and grilled cheese travelling with them.

She took another gulp of coffee, with hopes it would get rid of the hunger. Then, over the rim of the cup, she saw him. A tall, well-build guy wearing an 'Auto-Garage' cap and a flannel shirt. It was him. It had to be. In surprise and excitement she spilt some coffee on the floor "Oh shit!"

Ignoring the mess, she opened the car door, locked it behind her and jogged across the car park towards the diner entrance. Opening the door a wave of heat hit her in the face as she looked around. Tattered red booths were lined up against the window on the right, while the counter had high stools surrounding it on the left. The sizzle of meat made Cheryl's stomach ache with hunger even more. But she had no time to eat. She saw him sitting in the furthest booth.

She took a deep breath in, sweat had formed in the palm of her hand and she began to have second thoughts. _What if it's not him?_ _No, c'mon, you did your research._Passing through the crowd to the back of the diner, she began to worry. What if he runs away? What if he causes a scene or just doesn't believe her. Too late to turn back, she was already standing in front of his table. _Just do it._

"Excuse me?" She felt small and timid in front of the truck driver. Her heart was in her mouth. "Are you Travis Grady?"

"That's me" He answered, blowing the steam away from the coffee before taking a sip. He then scratched the stubble on his chin.

"My, my name is…" Cheryl started but felt, well, on the spot standing up. "Could I sit down?"

"Free country" He replied.

"Thanks" She took her bag from around her shoulder and placed it next to her. She was happy that they were sat at the back of the diner, where no one could hear them clearly or see them very well. "I know you don't know me. But…I don't really know how to say this…"

"Just say it" He reassured. His voice was deep, smooth and comforting. _It had to be him. His voice is somehow familiar._

"I'm sorry" She laughed nervously, brushing her hair away from her face. "I bet this hasn't happened to you before. I'm not crazy, by the way"

"I know you're not crazy" He nodded, finally looking her in the eyes. Cheryl held her breath, would he recognize her? "You're not trying to sell something are you?"

"Oh, no. Ha ha!" Cheryl laughed. "No. Actually, I…I need to tell you something. You see, I think we've met before"

The trucker stared at the young woman in front of him, he was certain he hadn't met her before. Her face didn't bring up any images or conversations. He took a long gulp of his black coffee, and then set it down on the drink coaster.

"I'm sorry" He said. "But, I can't seem to-"

"I don't expect you to" Cheryl interrupted him; she had to explain why she was here otherwise he could just get up and leave. And that would be her chance gone. "I was someone else back then"

"Heh" Travis smiled, thinking maybe she used to man or something. If she did used to be a man, then, damn. Good job.

"Listen" Cheryl lowered her voice, looked around the diner, making sure no one was eavesdropping. "Thirty-six years ago, you saved a seven year old girl from a house fire. Her name was Alessa Gillespie, and she was from Silent Hill"

The colour drained from Travis's face. So did his smile. He didn't move an inch, or show any emotion, he simply took his mug of coffee and had another sip, before lowering it and in a hushed tone replied.

"Are you with _them_?" He looked up. His eyes no longer soft and friendly, but hard and prepared to fight for his life.

"Oh, no. No, no, no" Cheryl shook her head before pulling some documents from her bag. "My name is Cheryl Mason. I was born 1983. But, I…I…"

"How do you know?" He asked. He had also begun to look around the diner. "I didn't do nothing wrong. The girl needed help"

"I know" She said with a sad smile. "And thank you, for all you did for me"

A moment passed in complete silence as Travis looked down at the documents that Cheryl had placed onto the table. Birth records. Town records.

"I'm Alessa" Cheryl whispered.

"No. Impossible." Travis said, shaking his head in disbelief. "Like you said. She was seven when she was burned. She would be…what? Forty-three now?"

"I know" Cheryl said, agreeing with him. "But, Alessa managed to create, um, another part of herself. Which I think you helped her with"

"What if I did?" He said. "What are these records going to prove?"

"Listen. I was the, shall we say, the 'other half'?" Cheryl explained pointing to the records "Look. This is the record of Cheryl Mason, born 1976. She died the exact date and year I was born. But, she didn't die. I am her. And Alessa"

"The baby…" Travis whispered to himself. It was years ago, but he would never forget his time in Silent Hill. That town that still haunted his dreams, even now. But, he wouldn't think like that, not anymore. He needed to see what he saw. It was a wake up call. "You're, really Alessa?"

"Uh-huh" Cheryl smiled. "I know, I know. It's complicated. I went by the name Heather for some time, until I was seventeen and I actually went to Silent Hill"

"You went there?" Travis leaned forward. "Jesus. Fuck, really?"

"Yeah. You see, my Dad, Harry Mason. He went to Silent Hill in 1983, and he managed to make Alessa and Cheryl, the baby you saw, into one again. That made me. And…he looked after me. Like I was his own. Even though I wasn't, not really, but he was still my Dad. And I was his daughter" Travis nodded slowly. He could see the pain in Cheryl's eyes when she talked about her Father.

"Could I ask what happened to him?" Travis sheepishly asked.

"He was murdered. For looking after me. Or, more of 'kidnapping' me as _they_ put it" Cheryl began to pack away the records, trying to take her mind off the painful memory.

"The Order" Travis said. "Sick fuckers"

"Yeah, well, it's over now" Cheryl closed her bag and rubbed cotton jacket.

"But, Cheryl" Travis took his mug and held it between his hands. "Why now? I mean, this is all a bit out of the blue. Why did you want to tell me this? Why the hell now?"

"I…I just wanted to meet you" Cheryl smiled then bit her lip. Travis watched as the young woman struggled to talk. "I needed to meet you. Just, for my own selfish reasons. I'm sorry. I guess, I still haven't gotten over _it_. Y'know? Seeing what we have, it kinda, stuck with me. It's not something that's stopped me from living, but its something I just can't forget"

"You were only seventeen, I can understand" Travis nodded his head and glanced outside, over to his truck. "Look, I won't ask how you found me. Or how you got those records. So don't apologize. You got nothing to be sorry about"

"Thanks" With a nod Cheryl put her bag over her shoulders. She paused. Thinking about what she was about to say. "I think, there's more out there"

"Hm?" Travis tilted his head to the side and straightened his cap. "More out there?"

"People. Y'know, more people out there that have been through what we have" Cheryl replied. "I don't know. I've looked at a few old newspapers, and, well, I'm almost certain"

"Wow. Heh, heh" Travis chuckled to himself. "Well, I must admit, I don't feel as, well, alone as I was about fifteen minuets. Knowing, that I wasn't the only one. I can tell you, I didn't expect this when I woke up for work this morning"

"Yeah, I know what you mean" Cheryl looked out the window towards her car. "But, really, thanks for not freaking out. I haven't been stalking you or anything. I would have thought you would run a mile once you heard me out"

"You learn to listen more when you get older" Travis noted. He finished off his coffee then moved the mug to the side. "You say there are more people. Why, uh, why are you looking for them?"

"Well, I'm not looking for them, I just..." Cheryl sighed, and then once again thought deeply about what she was going to say. She had to be careful. "Maybe, it's for, comfort. Like you said, I don't feel, alone. I mean, maybe, it would help. Finding the other people. But, also, I need some information. About The Order or the town"

"I see" Travis looked over to the red framed clock that hung on the wall. "Have you got any leads?"

"Uh…" Cheryl tucked her fringe behind her ear. "There's this place, called Shepherd's Glen. It's a town next to Silent Hill. A few years ago, it was reported that people had started to go missing. I have a friend, and he's looked more into it, and he said that the town is now, completely abandoned. And it has been for years. Say about, eight years now"

"No. No, that's not right" Travis shook his head. He remembered. _Oh God, how long ago was it? _"I sometimes, _sometimes_, have to drive through that area to deliver stock. One time I picked up a hitchhiker, about, yeah, four years ago. He just got discharged from the army. The town was fine then"

"And, he lived in Shepherd's Glen?" Cheryl perked up and then once again opened her bag. She took out a notepad and a pen. "What was he called?"

"Look, this was years ago. Years ago. My memory isn't what it used to be" Travis warned.

"Anything is valuable" Cheryl reassured.

"Um, Shepherd's Glen was his hometown" Travis then sighed. "He was asleep for most of the journey. Looked like he needed it, he had a lot on his mind"

"Well, what did he look like?" Cheryl asked.

"I'd say...he was, in his early twenties. Maybe" Travis pondered for a moment "Dark brown, crew-cut hair…"

"Any distinguishing features?" Cheryl asked writing quickly on her note pad.

"Not really. He was nice enough. He wore a Military Nyco Jacket. We talked a little. Just not enough, I guess" Travis shrugged "Um, he had a slight lazy eye. But heck, it's nothing to go on"

"Thanks, Travis" She said and ripped a plain section of paper from her notebook "I'll give you my friend's number. He's a private detective. He was with me when I went to Silent Hill, and he's the one that got me the records. His name is Douglas Cartland. He's a little grouchy but he doesn't bite. That much"

"Right" Travis took the paper. "You're really going to try and find him? This, solider?"

"Yep" Cheryl read through her notes. "You sure you can't remember his name?"

"Uh, Al…Alan?" Travis suggested. "Sorry, I really can't remember. I didn't get his surname either"

"Its okay" She closed her notebook with a smile. "I also learnt something else about that town"

"Shepherd's Glen?" Travis asked, in which he received a nod.

"The founders of the town moved away from Silent Hill, I've read that they were deeply involved with The Order" Cheryl looked over her shoulder. "They moved due to some schism or disagreement in the faith they shared. So a few of them left"

"Okay. So, a few people moved away and began to, well, start a new religion?" Cheryl shook her head.

"No. Only four families moved away, um" She closed her eyes for a moment, tying to remember the names. "Finch, Holloway, Bartlett and Shepherd. But, this is Silent Hill. They couldn't move without agreeing to a pact"

"And, that pact is?" Travis saw as Cheryl shrugged and folded her arms. "You don't know"

"No. I don't" She huffed. "I've read every book about that towns history and I haven't found a thing. That's why I want to find this, soldier you're talking about. Ask him a few questions. If he's from that town, then Douglas can get a few files"

"You've been having some trouble with those people then?" Travis wiped his brow.

"Not recently. A few times, in the past. Douglas has had a few death threats, his house has been broken into a few times and uh…" Cheryl lowered her head and whispered "Someone threw blood all over his car once. Not human blood, the police said it was some animals like a cow or something"

"Jesus" Travis was left wide eyed. "You didn't tell the police about them?"

"What can they do?" She asked. "I don't think they are used to monsters"

A diner waitress glanced at them as she walked pass holding a tray of food. This wasn't the place to talk.

"Well, it was nice meeting you, Travis" Cheryl smiled holding out her hand, in which Travis shook.

"Yeah, you too Cheryl" Travis agreed. "I'll uh, give your friend a call sometime. If I remember anything"

"Thanks" She stood up and awkwardly straightened her top. "Thank you, Travis. Really, thank you"

"Its fine" He smiled. With that she waved goodbye and headed out the diner. Leaving Travis staring at the spot where she had sat. It was a lot to take in. A fucking LOT to take in. That was the girl he saved from the fire, yet, it wasn't. _Holy fuck._It wasn't everyday you come into your local rest stop and the past gets dragged back up. He was now, like he was back then, saving a girl from a burning house, involved.

And he was pretty sure he hadn't heard the last of Cheryl.


	3. Chapter 3: The Soldier And The Secret

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 3

The Soldier And The Secret

"You done yet? I'd like to get this muck off me anytime soon" Wheeler stormed into the bathroom covered in car oil. "That thing ain't ever gunna start"

Alex was standing inside the bathtub, a cigarette in his mouth and a screwdriver in his hand. The temperature panel from the wall was now unscrewed and laying on the floor, with small screws and wires laid beside it.

"Almost done. The water stopped coming out because the thermal cut had gone, due to overheating" Alex placed the temperature panel back onto its box and began to place the tiny screws back into the holes.

"Whatever, man. As long as I get a shower tonight" Wheeler folded his arms as he watched Alex work. "I can hardly fit into that bucket of a bath"

"Ha!" Alex laughed.

"What have I told you about smoking in here?" Wheeler pulled the cigarette out of Alex's mouth.

"Fuck off" Alex shook his head. "I'm in a bathroom"

"Heh, heh" Wheeler smiled then ruffled the younger mans hair. "Jesus, Alex. Just hurry up"

"What are you going to do about the car?" Alex asked as he finished tightening the screws into their holes.

"I dunno. Call a professional" Wheeler shrugged.

"Couldn't by chance go make me a coffee, darlin'?" Alex asked in a sweet voice, chuckling to himself.

"Alright, but stop that. It's weird" Wheeler walked out of the room. "Starbucks is testing a new drive through window where you pull up and they just pour the coffee directly onto your lap. You should go"

"Sounds nice" Alex stepped out of the bathtub. Collecting his tools and extra wire he heard the kettle boil in the room next to him. "You heard from Elle?"

"Nope, not a thing" Wheeler shouted "I told her not to ring me, you never know who's listening"

"No ones listening, Wheeler" Alex sighed as he walked out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. He placed his work bag on the rug near the front door. Wheeler's flat was big enough for two people. It had a nice view of the forest in the distance from the balcony, a clean roomy kitchen, and the spare bedroom was just the right size for Alex.

"Oh. So how do you explain the incident then?" Wheeler raised his eyebrow. He was referring to the incident that had caused Alex to bunk with Wheeler for a few weeks.

"Someone must have followed me" Alex slumped into his chair, brushing his hair with his hand. "I don't think they'd be able to find out my address from a telephone call. I don't tell anyone, ANYONE, my information. If I do it's in person. See, you even got me paranoid"

"Well fuck" Wheeler poured the hot water into the cups. "I don't know. They messed up your apartment real good. You sure they didn't take anything?"

"I don't think so" Alex yawned. "They broke a lot of things, but didn't take anything"

"Jeez, man" Wheeler sighed passing over the hot cup. "I thought we got rid of those goons' years ago, and here they are. Fucking things up again. What did the police say?"

"I dunno, they said it was probably a gang or some robbers" Alex placed the cup on the wooden table in front of him. "What did they say to you?"

"Nothing. Put me on a different case" Wheeler shook his head "I don't believe it"

"I know. It's happened before though" Alex sighed. "With Elle and all"

"Yeah, I just glad she's away from it all" Wheeler sat down on the chair opposite Alex, he struggled for a moment, clutching his chest in pain. "Damn"

"You okay?" Alex sat up and leaned forward.

"Yeah, yeah, it just hurts sometimes" Alex nodded. He still remembered finding Wheeler. All them knifes that were stuck into his chest, he barely made it out alive that day, but he pulled through. He was in hospital for weeks, he could hardly talk, or breathe. But, now, he was okay. And improving each day. "Fuck 'em. That's what I say"

Alex laughed at the remark and took a sip of his drink. They sat and talked for a while, about work, sport, anything they could pick up on. Something to take their mind off things. Wheeler always cheered Alex up, his funny remarks and theories about the supernatural. Even when things got bad, really bad, when Alex was at his lowest.

"Well, if you'll excuse me" Wheeler put his cup in the sink. "I'm going to get a shower"

"Don't worry if it takes time to come on. The water is just coming through that's all" Alex called behind him.

"Right" Wheeler shut the door behind him. Alex huffed and rubbed his eye. He waited for the shower to come on before he went to the fridge. Opening the door he gently lifted the whiskey bottle from the rack so it wouldn't clink. He stared at the brown bottle. Shaking slightly. He had done so well, why the hell now would he fuck it all up? Wheeler had only just started trusting him again around liquor, which was probably why there was some in the fridge. Otherwise, he wouldn't have it in his flat when Alex was staying over.

He didn't need this stuff. He was better than this. He placed it back into the fridge and walked over to the sofa. _You don't need it. You don't need it. _

Alex switched on the TV and began to watch the news, he laid down on the sofa and watched until his eyes stared to become heavy. The spraying of the shower and the newsreaders voice became just blurs of sound at the end of a tunnel. Turning to his side, Alex buried his head into the cushion.

The phone began to ring from the other side of the room. Alex left it, waiting for the answering machine to come on. If it was something important they would leave a message and Alex would go pick it up and phone them back. That was how it worked in Wheelers home. 'The Flat Of the Paranoid and Mentally Disturbed' Alex would call it sometimes.

The electronic woman's voice asked the caller to leave their name, phone number and message after the beep. There was a pause before a man's voice spoke.

"Hello, my name is Douglas Cartland. I'd like to speak to a Mr. James Wheeler. I have questions about the events of Shepherd's Glen between the years 2003 to 2011. This may come as a surprise, so I'll leave my number. 877-432-110. Thanks"

Alex was standing over the telephone, still as a statue, glaring at the phone. His hands closed in tight fists.

_You don't need it. You don't need it._

†

"Thanks for the ride, Bud" Travis undid his seat belt and opened the truck door "You sure you don't wanna stick around for a drink? Your old gal sure is gunna be pissed at you for coming home at this time"

"Nah, I'm good" The other man smiled. "Gotta face her some time. Be seeing you, Travis"

"See ya, Bud" Travis climbed down from his friend's truck and shut the door behind him. The truck set off leaving the strong smell of petrol and soil. Wiping his brow with his cap Travis walked in the opposite direction towards the houses and apartment buildings. At one point Travis had considered getting a house, but soon decided not to, he wasn't home that often. He was usually on the road and staying at motels. An apartment seemed to be more suitable. Well, in honestly, he had started to spend more time at his apartment.

Once he got to his apartment door he unlocked it, opened it, walked in and heard the shower was running. _Huh. He must have finished work early. _Travis took his mud caked boots off then threw them on the shoe rack near the door. He walked towards the fridge, took out a beer and sat down on the sofa.

Turning on the TV he yawned and cracked open his beer. He thought about his day. He was still in the state of shock, but he was good as hiding it. Cheryl was still fresh in his mind. He pulled the piece of paper she had given to him out of his jean pocket. He looked at the number. _I need to tell him about Cheryl. Even though he's not gunna want to hear it. _

He finished his beer then went over the kitchen, still keeping his eyes on the television. As he began to look for food in the fridge Travis heard the bathroom door open.

"Hey, we got any food?" Travis asked. Still searching the shelves, nothing but beer, butter, cheese and milk.

"No" A gruff but beautifully soft voice replied.

"Aw, jeez" Travis sighed. "When a man's gotta eat, a man's gotta eat"

"Order something" The tall and fairly muscular man sat down on the sofa with a towel wrapped round his neck.

"You want anything?" Travis asked.

"Not hungry" The younger man sighed.

"C'mon, Murph" He sat down on the sofa across from him. Travis looked over to the bearded faced man, his shaggy russet hair covering his ears, and his eyes seemed so tired.

"I'm really not hungry" Murphy moaned "I'm just…tired"

"You haven't had any trouble today, have you?" Travis asked. "Police wise"

"No, nothing like that" Murphy said. "Work was busy, that's, that's all"

"Alright then" Travis was satisfied with his answer. He was just tired. Travis got up from the sofa, walked over to the kitchen and stopped. "You'll never guess what happened today"

"What?" Murphy rubbed his dripping wet hair, his eyes watching the local weather on the television. Sunny, with a slight chance of rain.

"Heh, heh, you're not going to like it" Travis laughed.

"Why's that?" Murphy turned to face him. He wiped his hairy chin with the grey cotton shirt he was wearing.

"I've uh, met someone, who's been to Silent Hill" Travis said simply, opening the breadbin to see if they actually had _any _bread. "And, she wants to find more people who have been to that place. And, uh, ask questions and, talk. Y'know, about the whole experience, thinking it would, help, in some way"

Murphy didn't say anything, but sat on the sofa, thinking deeply about the whole thing.

"I didn't tell her about you. And I'll keep it that way, unless you say other wise" Travis shut the breadbin and leaned against the kitchen counter. "For God sakes Murph, say something"

"Like what?" Murphy mumbled back. "What can I say? I don't want to fucking talk. I don't wanna talk about that fucking place, why, and mean, why would anyone even…how the hell did you meet?"

"She, uh, came up to me in a diner, I was on a break" Travis walked over to the sofa Murphy was sat on. "You wanna know something else?"

"Oh God, what?" Murphy sighed.

"When you moved in, I told you about the whole girl in the fire thing" Travis rubbed his head.

"Yeah. You saved her" Murphy looked up at him confused.

"Well, apparently, and hell, she has proof. She's that girl. Look, it's fucking hard to believe, but, somehow the girl I saved made another part of herself. And then, years later, she uh, made Cheryl. The girl I met today"

"What?" Murphy rose an eyebrow. "So, she's somehow, her daughter?"

"No, she is the girl I saved. Only, she's, not. She's a mixture of two people, Alessa and her other half" There was a long pause between the two men.

"Are we crazy?" Murphy asked.

"A little. A little" Travis nodded. "Maybe if you shaved and cut your hair you'd look less like a crazy bum"

"You have a point" Murphy agreed.

†

Covering the pots and pans in soapy water James rolled his eyes to the giggles and shouts coming from the room above him. He continued to clean, watching the highlights of the football game as well as reading the newspaper that was laid open on the side of the sink.

"Dad!" There was a shout from upstairs followed by a thunder of footsteps coming down the stairs. "Katy's gunna pick me up, so I'll see you later"

"Alright. Don't get too drunk" James smiled due to the irony of, that she will, indeed, get absolutely hammered. "Don't forget your house key"

That stopped Laura in her tracks, she turned and took her key from the kitchen drawer. She opened her sequin covered purse and dropped the key inside, then pulled her dress down a little.

"Thanks, Pops" She kissed James on the cheek. "I'll phone you later, so you're not worried about me"

"Okay, behave yourself" James smiled and gestured towards the door. "Just no bringing boys back and try not to make any sound when you come in"

"Okay, okay, later Pops" Laura opened the door.

"You look beautiful by the way" James added.

"Shut up" Laura stuck her tongue out. "Have a nice night"

Then she was gone, James listened to her heels getting quieter and quieter down the drive until they finally disappeared. He then dried the pots, stacked them all away and turned the TV off. For a moment he just stood and looked around the kitchen, then stretched and picked up the telephone. He dialed a number then waited for an answer, rubbing the stubble on his cheek. He was greeted by the answering machine.

"Hey Dad, it's me. Look I can drop the stuff off tomorrow, so I'll probably get to Ashfield for about 12. So, yeah, I'll see you then. Oh, and Laura's coming, just a heads up. Bye"

He hung the phone up, and placed it onto the kitchen counter. He sighed, closed his eyes and bit his lip. His Dad, for a long time, had considered him to be missing. Lost in that town. But he wasn't, in some ways, James was hiding from the world, even his family. Then, one day, he turned up on his doorstep. Stronger than he was before, and with Laura, she deserved family, even if he didn't. His Dad simply smiled and hugged him, tears forming in his eyes.

Sluggishly he dragged his feet to the coach and collapsed onto it. It didn't take long for his eyes to start to close, slowly he made his way into his own dream world. He was looking forward to a good nights sleep. But that wasn't what he was going to get.

Instead, he was greeted by rust, and a large humanoid figure, with a red metal pyramid for a head.


	4. Chapter 4: When We All Sleep

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 4

When We All Sleep

"_Oh, how they sweetly sing, worthy is our Savoir King.__  
__Loud let His praises ring, praise, praise for aye."_

"-I have questions about the events of Shepherd's Glen between the years 2003 to 2011. This may come as a surprise, so I'll leave my number. 877-432-110. Thanks"

Wheeler was looking down at his answering machine, writing the phone number on a pad of paper. Alex was sat on the sofa, his head in his hands, breathing deeply.

"What do you think?" Wheeler asked. "Do you think they have planted bugs, or cameras, and are watching our every move?"

"No, Wheeler, no, I don't think that" Alex ran his hands through his hair. "Do you know him? This Douglas Cartland?"

"Doesn't ring a bell" Wheeler scratched his chin and walked over to Alex. "You think I should ring him?"

"I don't know, I don't know" Alex sighed and nervously shook his leg. "What do you think?"

Wheeler huffed. "I wanna phone this guy up."

"Here?" Alex gesture around the apartment, Wheeler shook his head.

"I'll go to a payphone" Wheeler walked into the kitchen. "I don't want him tracking the call if he is one of those goons'. Everything will be fine, Alex. Don't worry"

He took his jacket from the kitchen table and pulled it over his shoulders, Alex watched him as he headed for the door.

"Wheeler" Alex stood up and walked over. "Are, are you sure? Do you think it's going to change anything?"

"Change is good, but I like dollars" Wheeler joked then straightened up. "I just wanna know what this guy wants. And how the hell he got my phone number"

"Alright" Alex agreed and inhaled, trying to relax.

"Okay, I'll see you later" He opened the door and gave Alex a reassuring smile, and then he was gone. Instantly Alex locked the door behind him, leaned against it and looked around the empty apartment room. He was alone. He fell to the floor and wrapped his arms around his legs.

It was going to be a long night.

†

Opening an eye, Travis thought he heard something, a voice, but soon dismissed it as a dream and turned over into the warm bed sheets. He heard it again, and this time listened for a while. It was the television, meaning, Murphy was up. He squinted at the digital clock on the bedside table. 2:49am glowed in neon blue letters. _Wow. New record. _

He kicked off the bed sheets and rubbed his sleepy eyes, then heaved himself off the bed and pulled on a baggy T-shirt. Opening his bedroom door he noticed the shine coming from down the hallway, and quietly, headed towards the living room, where he found Murphy half asleep on the coach, his head in his hand. He then, saying nothing, sat on the opposite coach and watched the television. Late night poker.

"How do you do it, Travis?" Murphy mumbled. His eyes looked heavy.

"Do what?" Travis replied looking over to the younger man.

"Cope" Murphy said. "How do you just forget?"

"I've never forgot" Travis finally answered with a sad tone. "You can't"

"You sure can handle it well" Murphy rubbed his bread and then wiped his almost shoulder length hair out the way.

"Things will get better. It'll take time. A lot of time, but things will brighten up" Travis smiled. "But, you have to be patient. How much sleep did you get?"

"Not even an hour" Murphy sighed. "I just can't, every time I close my eyes, I'm just back there again"

"I understand" Travis nodded. "I suppose your position at the moment doesn't help either"

Travis still remembered seeing Murphy for the first time, at a bar on the outskirts of Silent Hill, in the corner wearing a dirty jacket. His hair a mess, his face unshaven and his eyes, full of harshness, maybe a way to make sure people didn't talk to him. He looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. Travis of course, had a hunch, before he even spoke to the man. _He's been. _ Before Travis had a chance to go over and make conversation, he left. Not even giving Travis a glance when he passed him. The next time he saw Murphy was weeks later, he was filling trucks with gas at a local garage, wearing scruffy jeans and a hoodie. Looking the same way Travis had first saw him, distant and cold. Pure coincidence.

"I take it you didn't get that scar from filling gas tanks" Was the first words Travis said to Murphy, and from that they became acquaintances. Murphy was a hard shell to crack, hell, he was boulder. Not letting anything or anyone in. Keeping himself to himself. When Travis asked questions he would dismiss them or change the subject. _Yes, he's been. Defiantly been there. _

Then, one day, Travis pulled into the garage in his usual truck that needed topping up. As they both began talking about their days Murphy froze once he saw Travis's truck. He stayed silent until Travis noticed he had stopped talking and moving.

"What's wrong?" Travis asked.

"That…that truck…" Murphy whispered. He then looked at Travis and backed away, as he did he dropped the gas can, allowing the black fuel to spill and cover the ground between them. Murphy remembered seeing that truck. _There_. In that town.

Travis was confused, unable to say anything. Murphy's glare had coward him into nothing but a speechless statue. He was scary. Travis then asked Murphy if he would mind going for a drink, a strong one at that, and he would pay for the wasted fuel on the floor, making Murphy feel more of a charity case. Company was the last thing Murphy wanted, or attention for that matter. He didn't really want to go to any public places, but in this case, he allowed Travis to take him to a quiet, run-down bar.

They talked for hours – Travis did most of the talking- in the corner of the bar, out of sight, until Murphy explained why he had dropped the gas can. _You see, I saw that truck in a town called Silent Hill, it just came as a shock, I guess, well…it doesn't matter. You wouldn't understand._

At that moment Travis fell silent, questions sprung into his skull until, he finally told Murphy. Something that he held so tightly close to him, he just opened his mouth, and the words spilled out. _I do. I've been there._ And that was the start of it, at least one person, one person, had been to that town, Silent Hill. Seen what he had seen. Gone through what he had gone through. And on that day, he finally learnt something about Murphy, he was an escaped convict. Originally from Boston, Travis always favoured that fact over the other one, but still, it didn't change anything.

"Yeah. It doesn't help. But it's something only I can deal with" Murphy yawned and again rubbed his beard. "Travis. Thanks, for not saying anything"

"I'm getting that a lot this week" Travis grinned. "I'm doing more good deeds than the Good Samaritan"

"Heh, heh" Murphy's smile quickly faded away. "And thanks. For everything. For letting me stay. Even though I don't fucking deserve it"

"You're not a bad person" Travis said. He knew a lot more about Murphy now. About his son, Charlie, and he honestly couldn't imagine what he had gone through. He sympathised and related to him, he knew his pain, his loss, and his guilt over losing a loved one. "Now, my leg has fallen to sleep, and I wish to join it"

Stiffly standing up Travis nodded over to Murphy.

"Things will get better" Travis smiled and left.

Once Travis's bedroom door was shut, Murphy turned the television off and sat in the darkness. The street lights from outside shone onto the TV glass, showing Murphy's blurred reflection. But he wasn't alone, standing behind him was large man wearing a heavy black raincoat, with a gas mask obscuring his face. He breathed slowly but loudly.

Murphy stood and swiftly walked to his bedroom, hoping his mind would stop playing tricks and recalling his nightmares.

†

"Hey, sleepyhead" A familiar woman's voice burst into James skull, allowing him to be finally awaken from his tormented sleep. The curtains were open, allowing the sunshine to stain the living room a light shade of orange and yellow. "Hey, Dad, here. I made you a drink"

"Thanks, Laura" James was sweaty, and noted to himself he needed a shower. Taking the mug he saw that a blanket had been put over him, Laura. "What time did you get in?"

"About half 1" Laura stretched and sat on the arm of the sofa. Her hair was messy waves of blonde locks, and she had black smudges of make-up under her eyes from the pervious night. "You were snoring your head off"

"Thanks, Laura. You really needed to tell me that?" James shook his head as Laura giggled.

"Sorry, Pops. At least I didn't wake you" Laura pouted.

"Yeah…" Though James wished she had woken him. Even in his own dream, he tried desperately to wake himself, but he couldn't. The darkness had swallowed him, and wasn't going to let him go. "Remember, we're going to Ashfield today"

"Oh yeah!" Laura's eyes lit up. "Gunna go see Grandpa Frank"

"Yeah, well, I promised I'd fetch some boxes and my tools. I'm telling ya, he needs to sell that place. It's falling apart…Oh, by the way, what time is it?"

"Uhh, hang on, hang on" Laura turned around and looked at the clock that was hung on the wall in the kitchen. "20 past 10"

"Right" James placed the mug on the coffee table. "I'm going to get a shower. I said we would get there for 12, so we could help out."

"We? 12? Really, Dad?" Laura moaned. "If we were actually going to do stuff together, I would have never come to visit"

"Well, you're here now…" James picked up a clean shirt from the ironing pile and threw it playfully at Laura. "So get dressed"

"Oh my God" Laura giggled.

†

The morning for Henry had been a pretty hardworking one. As soon as he got up from bed he wandered into the kitchen, drank some milk then set straight to editing and organizing his photos. He had started to get more recognition for his work, his photos had been featured in a few magazines, websites and even in posters. And, after all his efforts, he finally had enough money to be able to rent out a house.

It was close to 1:00am, and he realized he had spent over five hours working. Placing his laptop on the floor, and neatly filing away all his produced photos he decided he would go out. Get out of the house for some fresh air, maybe for a coffee, or a walk? He didn't care, he just wanted stretch his legs.

After putting on something more suitable for the outdoors, he took his wallet and key from the kitchen side. He still felt hazy, unable to fully wake up. He had been on the computer for too long.

Before opening the apartment door, he looked through the peephole that showed nothing but an empty corridor. Not the murdered, eyeless and mumbling ghost of himself, whispering the words 'Please, help me'. Looking through the peephole before he went out had now become a habit, he wouldn't say a bad one, but he did admit to Eileen one time he might do it because of paranoia. Or it made him feel better.

He slowly opened the door and stepped out into the silence. The place was getting more and more quiet each day. He then locked the door before setting off down the hall, passing Eileen's old apartment, it did have a few tenants living in it over the last 10 years but they never stayed long. He did miss having her around. They had become really close friends after the incident, and began to talk a lot more. But he understood why she wanted to move, and he even helped her pack up her things, including the creepy pink rabbit doll she wanted to keep. They still talked, and met up every now and again. He enjoyed Eileen's company. And she enjoyed his. They had their differences of course, she liked going out, Henry liked staying in, she was loud and giddy, and he was quiet and shy. But, they had a common ground and had experienced something no one else would understand, but them.

The only reason why he stayed was partly because he couldn't afford anywhere else at the time and also another reason. A reason why he still slept in the same room he was held prisoner in.

Hopping down the flight of steps Henry looked at his mobile phone, it was now 1:16pm, he decided he was going for something to eat first. On the final floor Henry saw Frank coming from the office and then stand behind the reception counter, looking through papers. Years ago, he would have just walked pass him without a single word. But now, after everything, he felt more confident.

"Hey, Frank" Henry's shaggy and untidy hair waved in the warm breeze that came from the doorway that led outside, the door was held open by a battered looking chair.

"Henry" Frank smiled. "How are you? Haven't seen you in a while"

"Yeah, I've been busy…" Henry smiled back and tucked his hands into his coat. "How about you?"

"Not too bad…" Frank stopped talking, from outside there was a sound of a car, probably pulling into the parking lot. "I'm expecting guests"

"James?" Henry asked scratching the back of his neck.

"Yeah, he's helping me fix the boiler. And the toilet, and helping me move some things" Frank nodded "Yeah, it's going to be a busy day. I'm spending more money than I can afford on this place, so, I thought I'd have a go at fixing things myself. Cut back, as they say"

"Hey, Frank, if you need-" Henry was interrupted by a shout from outside, both he and Frank looked at the open door.

"Laura, help me with this!" A car door then slammed shut.

"In a sec, Pops" Laura jogged up the steps to the door and smiled once she saw Frank. "Gramps!"

She jogged over to him and hoped over the counter, then wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Laura" Frank laughed and held her tight. Henry felt a little out of place, he wasn't familiar with this sort of thing. "You haven't met my Granddaughter, have you, Henry?"

"Nice to meet cha" Laura let go of Frank and smiled whilst lifting herself up so she could sit on the reception counter.

"You, too" Henry nodded. He knew James had a daughter, but he hadn't had the chance to meet her up till now. She looked in her mid-20s, dressed tomboyish and had big blue eyes. James talked about her a lot.

"Thanks for the help, Laura" James sighed, coming through the door and holding his large, heavy tool box. "Hey, Henry"

"Hey" Henry smiled back at James.

"Where you want these, Dad?" James asked.

"In the back" Frank opened the office door allowing James to walk through.

"Gramps, can I use the toilet?" Laura whispered.

"Okay, use my apartments" Frank took his key of his dark green trousers. "The one in the office is blocked"

"Nice one" Laura grimaced that made Henry chuckle. She smiled at Henry before walking up the stairs.

"Henry, get in here" James called. Henry first looked at Frank who smiled and gestured for him to go in.

"I'm going to go put the trash out" Frank stated and moved aside for Henry. Once inside the small office Henry looked at all the documents and spare room keys that were hung on the wall. So many keys to the apartment rooms, hardly anyone lived at Ashfield Heights anymore. Sometimes it would seem it was just Henry that lived there. Then he looked over to James who had his arms folded, looking down at his tool box that he had placed on the small table in the centre of the room. He looked pale, and had dark circles under his eyes.

"How's it going?" James asked.

"Good, you?" Henry leaned against the peeling wall.

"Yeah" James looked up at Henry and leaned on his hip.

"Any nightmares, lately?" Henry then coughed as if to cover up the silence he received after he asked the question.

"Yeah, you get my E-mail about joining Ghostbusters?" James replied.

There was a pause before both men exploded with laughter. The second reason why Henry decided to stay at Ashfield Heights was because of James. He still remembered the day Frank told him his son, who had gone missing in Silent Hill, had turned up at his door, with Laura. Not his wife. Henry was shocked. James had been missing for so long, almost 8 years. He later found out that James hadn't been missing, more like recouping. He just didn't tell anyone where he was. He was too scared to. Too scared of the world judging him.

Of course, Henry wouldn't have known all this, but one day he went to talk to James whilst he was visiting Frank. And he told him what had happened to him in his apartment. And, to his astonishment, James believed every word that came out of Henry's mouth. And in return, he told Henry what had happened to him in the town Silent Hill. Including what happened to his wife. And how he attempted to kill himself after it all. He was going to drive into Toluca Lake James told him, but didn't, he decided to live. It was what Mary wanted him to do. _Go on with your life. _

Somehow James just opened up to Henry, he didn't talk much, but he was a good listener. If he wasn't a photographer, he could have made a fortune being an Agony Aunt. James told him that once, receiving him a sigh and an embarrassed mumble back.

"So…that's Laura, huh?" Henry noted taking in deep breath.

"Yeah, that's Laura" James pulled out a wooden chair and sat heavily into it. "She's a good kid. Doesn't smoke, not on drugs, what else could I ask for?"

"What is she doing?" Henry asked. "I mean, is she at university, or does she have a job?"

"She's studying to become a veterinary nurse" James smiled. "She loves animals"

"She still lives with you?" James shook his head.

"She lives with a friend in an apartment, they share the rent" James looked around the office and then back to Henry. "She came to visit 'cause it's the holidays"

"Right…" Henry fell silent. They sat in a comfortable silence until James decided to talk.

"How's, how's Eileen?"

"Okay, as far as I know, haven't seen her in a while" Henry unzipped his coat as he became quite hot sitting in the small compact room. "We still talk online though, or she phones me up"

"Why aren't you the one to phone _her_ up?" James raised an eyebrow.

"I dunno" Henry shrugged shyly. "What am I going to say?"

"Anything." James laughed. "Oh jeez, Henry, you gotta get out more"

"I do" He agreed and nodded his head.

"So, your not interested?" The question made Henry chuckle and looked away from James in bashfulness. "So you are?"

"I don't know!" Henry threw him a helpless look causing James to dig deeper. He knew Henry was a shy soul, and was slightly awkward in every situation and confrontation.

"Does she like you?" He asked grinning.

"Why are you doing this, James. Again" Henry sighed. "Why?"

"Because. It. Is. Fun." James laughed.

"I'm not having f- fun" Henry then looked away again, biting his tongue.

"Y'know, what?" James asked leaning his head on his hand. "I think you almost swore then"

"So?"

"I've never heard you swear" James smiled with glee causing the brown haired man to stand up and walk towards the door. "C'mon, Henry!"

"Just remember, James" Henry looked straight into the older mans eyes "I'm always going to be taller than you"

"Fuck off!" James shouted as Henry broke into fits of laughter.


	5. Chapter 5: Blood, Rust And Tears

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 5

Blood, Rust And Tears

"So, what did he say?" Alex turned away from the open car window. The cool air caressed his cheek as he and Wheeler drove down the road. As always the car was making a clanking noise, and was on the verge of stopping at any moment. Alex just prayed they didn't stop in the middle of a roundabout, a road wouldn't be as bad, but a roundabout would kill him.

"Nothing" Wheeler shrugged feeding the car a little more gas. They had spent a least half an hour trying to get it started, and Wheeler wasn't taking any changes of over doing it. In case the car stopped dead and one of them went through the window.

"Nothing" Alex repeated in weary one.

"I told him to meet me at a local place" Wheeler replied indicating to go right.

"Where?" Alex leaned his arm on the rolled down window. When Wheeler turned the engine let out a low grunt, making the car shudder then carry on down the road.

"Oh, come baby, we're almost there" Wheeler patted the steering wheel. "Daddy loves you"

"Wheeler, stop making out with the car and answer me" Alex groaned.

"At a café" Wheeler said. "That's all you need to know"

Stopping himself from asking any more questions Alex leaned back and turned his head towards the open window. He trusted Wheeler, he may be a little crazy but he wasn't stupid. He knew what he was doing. If he thought it wasn't safe he wouldn't go meet this Douglas by himself, giving Alex the impression that they've already swapped information.

There was a sudden bang and Alex jumped forward, luckily they were almost at the garage. But, still, they were in the middle of the road with angry drivers shouting at them and honking their horns.

"That's it" Wheeler clapped his hands together. "Looks like we're pushing"

Without replying Alex undid his seat belt and got out the car, then went straight to the back of it. Of course, when Wheeler said 'we're' pushing, he meant just Alex.

"Take the hand break off then!" Alex yelled. He was pushing for about ten seconds until he noticed Wheelers smug and amused face in the mirror. "And turn the hazard lights on, man!"

"Alright, alright" Wheeler waved. "Just push it to the side of the road, see if I can get it started again"

With his arms shaking Alex managed to push the car till it was rolling by itself, whilst Wheeler turned the steering wheel causing it to go towards the pavement. With a few failed attempts, the car weakly managed to start again.

"Get in!" Wheeler shouted. "Before it stops"

Rushing inside, Alex slammed the door shut and didn't have time to put his seatbelt on due to Wheeler pulling out in a fast haste.

"Jesus, Wheeler!" Alex held onto the dashboard. "We could've just pushed the car round the corner!"

Wheeler shrugged his shoulders in response, and turned around the corner, the garage was on the right. Turning to go into the small parking spot next to a few other cars the engine began to shake causing Alex to jolt forward a few times. Once inside the small space Wheeler took the key from the ignition.

"Well, if we crashed, we're in a pretty convenient place" Wheeler pointed out looking over to a slightly stiff Alex who was holding on the side of the car.

"Don't talk" Alex opened the door. The air smelled of petrol and smoke, and he could hear the clank of metal coming from inside the dark garage.

"You guys alright?" Alex looked over to a dark haired man coming from inside the garage. He was wiping his oil covered hands on a grey rag and wore a navy blue jumpsuit. "Your ride sure doesn't sound good"

"Yeah, it's been like it for a few days now" Wheeler slammed the door shut behind him. "The engine keeps cutting out""

"Right, well…" The man dropped the rag onto the floor. "Could you open the hood?"

"Yeah, sure" Wheeler opened his door and pulled the interior hood latch under his seat causing the bonnet to open. The man lifted it and looked at the engine, the wires, and the battery.

"Okay…" The man then looked over to Alex. "The engines a little hot, where you guys come from?"

"We only live a few blocks away" Alex replied.

"Okay…" The man looked over his shoulder. "I'll go get Murphy. He might have a better idea"

The man smiled and walked back towards the garage, he whistled then called out.

"Murph!" As Wheeler looked at the engine himself, Alex saw a man roll from under a car in the corner of the garage. His bearded face was slightly covered in black dirt, and the top half of his jumpsuit was tied around his waist revealing his oil stained shirt. He didn't look like the friendliest of people, in honesty he looked kinda remote and annoyed.

Looking away Alex leaned against the car, he closed his sore eyes and yawned, his mind was still thinking about who Wheeler was meeting and why he wouldn't tell him anything about it. And why he didn't want Alex coming along. It didn't annoying him, not knowing what was going to happen afterwards annoyed him the most. Thinking about it made his head hurt. Alex just didn't want Wheeler telling that guy about him, after all, it was his fault that Shepherds Glen had turned into nothing but a cursed town.

"How many times has it cut out?" Alex realised that Wheeler was having a conversation with the bearded mechanic.

"Um, say about…" Wheeler thought for a moment. "About 7…8 times"

"Alright, well I'm going to look at the fuel filter" Murphy looked at Alex. Then looked down at the engine. "If you haven't cleaned it or had a new filter fitted in for a while, then it's likely its clogged up with contamination, like dirt, rust. That means not enough fuel is getting through, making the engine struggle to run normally. It happens a lot. You just need to clean it every few months"

"Oh…right" Wheeler watched as Murphy disconnected the filter and looked inside it. Murphy nodded slowly.

"Yeah, you might wanna get a new one" Murphy showed Wheeler the inside of the filter that was covered in brown liquid and rust.

"How much do they cost?" Wheeler asked.

"About, 15 dollars" Murphy replied. "You can easily put it in yourself. It'll be a lot cheaper than me doing it"

"Wow. You must be good for business" Alex laughed.

"Well" Murphy faced Alex. "You can spend about 50 dollars on a ten minute job for me to do, if you want"

"Alex, you can do it" Wheeler said. "You're handyman, I'm sure you can figure it out"

"Fine" Alex folded his arms. "Now, we just need to go buy one"

"You can get them online for nothing" Murphy said. "But that's if your willing to wait for it"

Murphy placed the filter back into its place. His skin was sweaty from working underneath the cars all day. He then shut the hood.

"Most of the time you can clean those things and they'll work just fine, but it's too rusted to even do that" Murphy commented. "I mean, really rusted. Even around the rim of your car hood"

"What?" Alex stood next to Murphy as he pointed at the dark red and brown metal. He was right, in was all over the place. Even inside the bonnet, the rust had started to spread onto the engine and cables. "It wasn't like that yesterday"

"Alex…" Wheeler gave Alex a dark look. As if to say, 'lets go'. But Alex didn't want to. He was getting frustrated with everything.

"Why is it like this?" Alex's voice changed to a scared mumble. Then, Murphy placed his finger on a patch of rust. Taking it away he then looked at it in confusion and alert. He showed it to Alex.

"That's blood" Murphy said. Alex swayed a little from the sight of it, until he finally shook his head in horror.

"This c-can't be happening" Alex stuttered.

"Alex. Let's go" Wheeler grabbed Alex's arm and practically pushed him into the car. He wasn't going to let Alex go off the rails again. Not again. His mind was still in no state for this sort of thing still. He turned to Murphy who was standing wide eyed. "Look. Don't say a thing, he's not well"

"Alright…" Murphy said softly. "Why-"

"You don't wanna know" Wheeler said sternly. "Trust me. You don't wanna know"

And with that, Wheeler got into the drivers seat. He turned the key and the cars engine started. They drove away, leaving Murphy with the strong smell of metal.

†

James laughed as he pulled into the driveway. Laura had been talking for most of the journey, ranting about anything she could think of until they finally got home. They both had lunch with Henry, and had a pleasant evening, promising that they'd have to do it again next time they were in Ashfield.

"He's pretty cute" Laura remarked getting out of the car.

"No, Laura" James called out as she put her house key through the front door.

"What, I'm just stating fact!" With a smile she opened the door and jogged down the steps and back down drive, taking the tool box from James. "I'll get that, Dad"

"It's still no" James said making Laura sigh in disappointment. Smiling to himself James took the paper grocery bag from the back seat, locked the car and walked towards the front door.

"James Sunderland?" Turning around James saw a man standing at the end of the driveway. He had grayish-brown combed back hair, he wore a beige coat, quite stocky and looked to be in his late 50s, early 60s.

"Yeah" James answered.

"I'm Douglas Cartland" The man replied. "I'm detective"

"A detective" James repeated.

"A private detective" Douglas nodded.

"A private detective" James said. He could no longer feel his hands or feet. His head became light, as if he was about to pass out.

"In 1993 you and your wife were reported missing" Douglas took a step forward. "In a town called Silent Hill"

James didn't say anything, but stood rooted to the ground. Unable to break free from the fear that he held in his gut. The first thought James had was how the hell did he know that? But then it occurred to him that he must have looked at his personal files, and must have saw that he was missing for about 8 years. _Is that why he's here? Because he wants to know what happened? Why Mary didn't come back with me? No, he must have seen that I am widower. Maybe he just wants to know what I had been doing for 8 years. _

"You better come inside" James then turned around and slowly walked to the front door. Once he was inside he placed the grocery bag on the table and just stared at the wall, unable to face Douglas. This was it.

"Hey, Pops!" Laura walked down the stairs merrily. "What do you think about-oh…" Laura froze once she saw Douglas walk through the front door. "Hey"

"Evening" Douglas replied.

"Um, Dad?" Laura jumped down the last couple of steps and walked to James's side. She saw that his face was blank. He didn't even turn to look at her. "Dad, what's wrong? Dad?"

"Laura…" Finally James took a deep breath. "I need you to go out for a while"

"What? Why?" Laura looked over to Douglas then back to James who took out his wallet.

"Here. Go buy yourself something" James held out some money.

"No. I don't want to" Laura shook her head and pushed his hand away. "I wanna stay with you. What's happening? What does he want? Who is he?"

"Please, Laura" James held her hand for a moment before placing the green notes into her palm. "I'll tell you later. But, please, be good. We just need a little time"

Nodding slowly Laura took the money, and then kissed James on the cheek. He was unhappy. That man had made him unhappy. As Laura slipped her pumps on she gave Douglas a dirty look, before grabbing her jacket and bag then leaving. Shutting the door behind her and leaving them alone.

"Your daughter?" Douglas asked.

"Yeah" James replied as he began to take his groceries out of the brown paper bag and place them on the table.

"James" Douglas sighed. "I won't lie to you. I'm here to ask about what happened in Silent Hill"

"I know" James mumbled back.

"And about what happened to your wife" Douglas added. This caused James to stop moving. He then screwed the paper bag into a ball then put it into the bin.

"Why do you need to know about her?" James finally turned around to face Douglas. He ran his hand through his dark blonde hair.

"Because, she was missing too" Douglas replied. "But she was never found"

"That's because she died" James's throat began to swell. He couldn't talk about Mary, he just couldn't. Even when he thought about her, in so much and agony and sadness, lying in that cold bed all alone. He just wanted to die.

"Oh…" Douglas was taken aback a little. He then shook his head and looked at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, I didn't know…"

"Yeah" James said, annoyed with the fact that he had to go through his wife's death all over again. "And, if you want to know why I was missing for 8 years. It's because I was mourning"

"Yeah, but…" Douglas looked down at the floor. Then back at James. "8 years. It's such a long time"

"Mary was different" James stated. "Plus I had Laura to look after"

"Laura?" Douglas then gestured towards the door. "Your daughter?"

"My adopted daughter" James corrected. "Me and Mary never had kids"

"I'm sorry, but…" Douglas paused for a moment. "In the report, it stated that you were both missing. So your wife wasn't dead then"

"No. She was dead" James made a tight fist. "She got ill. The doctor gave her three years to live. She spent most of it at Saint Jerome's Hospital"

"In Ashfield?" Douglas asked.

"Yeah" James nodded, reflecting back on those dark times. "But all she wanted was to go back to that place, Silent Hill. But I never took her. I said I would, but I didn't. She spent her last days with me at our home. Lying in our bed…"

"So, this disease killed her" Douglas said. "But you just didn't tell anyone. That's why they thought Mary went to Silent Hill with you"

James shook his head and walked into the kitchen. As Douglas followed after him he saw that James had took out two small whiskey glasses and a dark bottle from the fridge.

"What some?" James offered pouring the brown liquid into both of the glasses.

"Sure" Douglas replied. As he took a sip, James downed the entire liquid in one quick gulp. "So, Mary didn't go with you to Silent Hill"

"No, she did" Both he and Douglas sat on the high stool chairs that were around the kitchen counter. "I took her there. But she was…"

Douglas wasn't surprised. He knew what was coming next. People dealt with grief in their own way.

"She was dead" Douglas finished his sentence. James nodded, and poured himself another drink "James, what happened in Silent Hill?"

"Heh, heh" James darkly chuckled, then took another shot that burned his throat. "You won't believe me"

"No, I will" Douglas answered. "Because I've been there myself, and I've seen _them_, those monsters"

James stared at Douglas, slowly placing his whiskey glass back onto the counter.

"What the fuck is this?!" James yelled. "What do you want? Who the hell even are you?"

"Like I said" Douglas finished his drink. "I'm a detective. I'm currently looking for people who have been to Silent Hill and seen what I have"

"But…why?" James asked weakly.

"Because, there is a woman who wants to meet the people who have been there, and ask them questions" Douglas wiped the rim of his glass with his finger. "It's a cursed town, and she wants to know what you saw"

"I saw a lot of things" James replied. "I saw things that weren't human, I saw people die, and I saw Mary with my own eyes, even though she had been dead for a week! And this woman, wants to fucking talk about it?!"

"James, calm down" Douglas said.

"You really want to know what happened to Mary?" James asked. Douglas just sat there, knowing it didn't matter what he said, James was going to tell him. "I…I killed her. I murdered her. Because she made my life a misery, and I wanted her out of it! That's why I did it, that's why I ended up in that town, because I killed my own wife for my own selfish reasons"

"That's not true" Douglas said standing up. "If it was, you wouldn't look so sad when you talked about her…"

"Even though…I always told myself it was because I didn't want her to suffer…" James whispered "But really, I just wanted my life back. And…she forgave me. And, in her letter, she even apologized. And told me to live for myself…"

"Look…" Douglas spoke after a long pause. He pulled out a piece of paper and left it on the kitchen counter. "My number, if you change your mind. Goodbye, James. I'll see myself out"

Douglas nodded his head and walked out of the kitchen. James listened as he heard the front door close. He had never felt so alone. He looked at the piece of paper Douglas had left for him. Then, he walked back into the living room and laid on the sofa. He laid there for an hour, thinking to himself, staring at ceiling. Mary had spent 3 years of her life doing this, just looking up at the ceiling, feeling so alone and unloved. Why didn't he go visit her when he could have? Why did he leave her alone in that hospital?

"Dad?" James was pulled out of his daze by Laura's sweet voice. "That man is gone?"

"Yeah" He sat up and looked at Laura. She was the only person Mary had to talk to. James then looked down at his lap and then, decided to sit on the floor.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Laura sat beside him. She hugged his arm and laid her face on his shoulder. Even though Laura knew what James had done, she still called him Dad. "Don't be upset"

"I'm sorry" He apologized. "I'm so, so sorry…"

Without responding to what he had said, Laura held James even tighter, scared he would run off he she let go. They sat there. But didn't speak. Neither of them did.

_She was always waiting for you…why…why?_


	6. Chapter 6: Things Can Only Get Better

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 6

Things Can Only Get Better

Stirring the pasta that boiled in the deep pan, Cheryl hummed and danced along to the music that came from the radio. She also had the television on, playing repeats of 'Everybody Loves Raymond'. It was 5:30pm, and she had come home from work early, as she was fed up of looking at colour charts and deciding whether or not blue and green should go together. Blue and Green, never to be seen. _Yeah. Try telling that to a peacock._

She had also wanted to come home and have a look at her own artwork, which she kept in the spare room, under lock and key. Douglas had once said her paintings and sketches were 'depressing', 'disturbing' and 'freaked the hell out of him'. Of course, he was right. Her pictures weren't exactly child friendly. She tended to draw or paint anything that came into her head, anything that inspired her, which was normally something dark and monstrous. But Douglas knew it was some kind of therapy for Cheryl, to get the things inside her head out and put them on a canvas. It helped in a way.

Even in the middle of the night she would wake up from a dream, or a memory, or even a vision. Then, she would go to her spare room and draw what she saw. Her latest drawing that she had decided to turn into a portrait was of a huge figure that wore a gas mask. Earlier on in the year she had a nightmare, where she was laid in the rain, and the black coated monster was looking down at her, breathing slowly. She didn't understand the dream, but decided to add the monster to her collection of paintings.

As Cheryl tasted the pasta sauce her mobile phone began to ring from outside, on the patio table. Rushing out of the back door, she jogged over to her phone and answered.

"Hey Douglas" She answered cheerfully. There was a pause before he answered back.

"Hey" He replied. "I found him"

"Really?" Cheryl perked up. "What, uh, what happened?"

"He didn't take it very well" Douglas admitted. "I left my number. Don't know if he'll ring"

"But, he's defiantly been there?" Cheryl asked curling her hair with her finger.

"Yes" Douglas sighed. "I could tell from looking at him"

"Right" Cheryl walked back into the kitchen and turned the radio off, then put the TV on mute. "Did you tell him about me?"

"Kinda" Douglas paused. "I just said that there's a woman who wants to talk to people who've been to Silent Hill. And, ask questions. See, I didn't leave that part out"

"Hmm" Cheryl mused for a moment. "So, in other words, he's not interested"

"I wouldn't say that" Douglas said. "He may need time. But he was willing to listen to me. And, he told me a lot of things"

"Things?" Cheryl leaned against the kitchen counter. "Like, what he saw? What happened to him?"

"Right…" Douglas took a deep breath in. "More personal stuff than that. If you have an hour, I could drop by yours"

"Sure" Cheryl looked over to the clock. "God Douglas, it's amazing how you know when to come over when I'm cooking"

"Oh, great. I'll be there soon" Douglas laughed.

†

"Wheeler, where are we going?" Alex asked. After finally calming down, he decided he should say something. "Wheeler, c'mon, man"

"The hospital" Wheeler said, keeping both eyes on the road.

"The hospital?" Alex questioned. "What the hell for?"

"For you, Alex" Wheeler replied. "I wanna get you checked"

"What—no, no, I'm fine!" Alex laughed nervously. "I mean, c'mon, anyone would freak out about having blood in their car. Wheeler, for Gods sake, this ain't got nothing to do with me, it's _them_. They broke into my flat, and now they've decided to fuck with your car-!"

"Alex" Wheelers grim voice caused Alex to fall silent. "You know why we're going. Do you really wanna go back to that Mental Hospital, huh? Is that what you want? Alex, a single thing related to that place could cause a relapse. I saw you back there, Alex. That is the kind of shit that caused you to start drinking"

"Stop the car" Alex calmly said, unable to cope with the idea of going back to a hospital.

"What? Are you listening?" Wheeler finally looked over to Alex who was staring at the car floor. "You need people to help you, Alex. You can't do this by yourself"

"Wheeler, stop the car" Alex gritted his teeth.

"No" Wheeler shooked his head. "No, Alex"

"Stop the fucking car!" In that instant Wheeler braked and the car came to a halt. Alex, without saying a word, opened the car door and slammed it behind him. Wheeler watched him as he walked down the street. In frustration Wheeler slammed his hands against the steering wheel, and then angrily pulled back out and onto the road.

Alex watched as Wheeler drove off down the road, his car leaving dark grey smoke behind. As cold drops of rain began to fall, Alex zipped up his jacket and pulled his hood over his head. He needed to find a payphone.

†

Opening the mailbox that had the surname 'Grady' labelled on the front, Murphy took the letters and catalogue from inside. Yawning loudly he shut the small metal door, locked it again and began to walk up the steps. It had been a pretty average day, apart from the bizarre incident. He started thinking that maybe, he should have told someone. But, in the back of his mind, he decided not to. He didn't know why, maybe it was his own blood? No, he was certain it came from the rust patch. Someone might have caught themselves on the car. Murphy tried to make excuses for it. But in the end, he just tried to forget about it. He probably won't see them again anyway. The young man looked like he was going to pass out, perhaps he suffered from Hemophobia.

As he came to the 6th floor he walked down the corridor and towards Travis's apartment door. He smelled strongly of car oil, and his hands were still slightly covered in the rust and petrol. Pulling out his key from his jumpsuit pocket, he noticed that the door was already open. Confused, he pushed the door. Inside was Travis, washing his hands in the kitchen sink.

"Afternoon" Travis looked over his shoulder to make sure it was Murphy who walked in.

"Hey" Murphy shut the door behind him, only for it to bounce open again. He then noticed that the handle and lock was broken. "What happened? Did we have a break in?"

"Yep" Travis nodded, drying his hands on a kitchen towel. "Why you think I'm home this early?"

"Jesus. Did they take anything?" Murphy froze in realisation. Sometimes he would forget about his situation. "Did…did you phone the police?"

"Nope" Travis leaned against the counter and rubbed the stubble on his chin.

"You can" Murphy said.

"Well…" Travis clapped his hands together. "Luckily for you, they didn't take anything"

"What?" Murphy walked over to the older man whilst scanning the room. Nothing had changed. Nothing had moved. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah" Murphy saw the slight fear in Travis's eyes as he began to speak "But…"

"What is it?" Murphy asked.

"Look" Travis walked over to the fridge. At once, Murphy saw the dark redness around the edge of the white door. Before he could say anything Travis opened the fridge to reveal the rust infested insides, and the foul smell that followed, causing Murphy to step back and cover his nose.

"Holy fuck" Murphy coughed back the tears that came from his stinging eyes.

"Its rust" Travis said, unfazed by the fact his fridge had transformed into Hells peephole.

"I…I can see that" Murphy looked over to the Travis. "Shut the door"

"That's not all" Travis said. "The bathroom, it's all over the place"

"You're kidding" Murphy wiped his nose. He then paused, the car from the garage flashed into his head, along with how strange the young man was acting. _Maybe, they know something. Wait, I can't say for sure. But…_ "Travis, this, this has happened to me today"

"What?" Travis furrowed his brows.

"Yeah, some guys came into the garage" Murphy began. "Their car, they said it kept cutting out. So, I took a look. The engine, everything, it was covered in rust. And, blood. It was covered in blood"

"Blood?" Travis shook his head. "Are you sure? Did you get their names?"

"Yeah, not a lot, but there was blood" Murphy went over to the cupboard and took a glass from the shelf. "I didn't get their names"

"What did they look like?" Travis watched Murphy.

"Both were male. One looked about 50, maybe more. African-American, shaven black hair" Murphy thought for a moment. "The other looked to be in his mid-twenties, pretty well-built, brown hair. Travis, I doubt I'm going to see them again"

"Murphy…" Travis took a long breath in. "I think we both know what's happening here. And to be frank, I don't feel safe in my own apartment anymore. _It's_ in here"

"Yeah…" Murphy turned the cold tap on. Nothing came out. Both men looked at each other, confused and slightly prepared. Placing the glass to the side of the sink, Murphy tried the other tap. There was a slight rumble, until the thick red liquid spurted from the tap end. "Oh fuck!"

"Shit, turn the tap off!" Travis ripped some paper towels off a nearby roll. He began wiping away the blood. "Murph, I know, I know you're still against the whole thing but…y'know how that woman gave me her number? Well…"

"You want to call her" Murphy nodded his head. "Fine, do it"

Travis gave Murphy a worried look, but was glad he felt the same way. He'd have to phone this Douglas and tell him what's happened before it was too late. He felt it, like he did when he was back in Silent Hill so many years ago. He felt the presence of the town right here, in his apartment, in the walls and the floorboards. He then carried on cleaning the red stained sink.

†

"You could phone him up" Henry's voice finally came through the phone speaker after a long pause.

"You too?" James sighed. He felt a slight headache coming on due to the whiskey he had the previous night. "Laura said the same thing"

"Where is she?" Henry asked. James could hear the sound of paper in the background, meaning that Henry was working as well as listening to James problems. Henry was too nice for his own good.

"She went out" James yawned, ironing his and Laura's clothes. "Quite early actually"

"I could come over" Henry offered. "And we'll phone him together"

"Yeah" James nodded, balancing the phone between his ear and shoulder. "You wouldn't mind?"

"Of course not" Henry chuckled. "I'm interested in what this Douglas knows. And the woman he mentioned, I wonder what she wants to ask you"

"And you when she finds out" James added. "Douglas said she wants to meet the people who've been there, Henry"

"Hmm" Henry was silent for a moment.

"You still there?" James asked.

"Yeah, sorry" He apologized. "Aren't you a little bit curious? Knowing that there are people who've been to Silent Hill? I've always considered it. I knew that, apart from me, you, and Eileen, we can't just be the only people"

"I guess…I _was _a little interested" James admitted. "But, Henry, I just didn't want to talk about why I was there, y'know?"

"I know" Henry sighed. "I'm sure it wasn't his intention to upset you. I bet he just wanted to know the truth"

"I guess" James agreed. "But, still, it brought up some unwanted feelings"

"I get it" Henry yawned.

"I'm sorry, am I boring you?" James joked, knowing it'll make him feel uncomfortable.

"No, no" Henry said. "I'm tired. I got a load more pictures to develop"

"Right…" James smiled, folding a pair of skinny jeans and placing them into a basket. He heard the front door open and the sound of Laura whispering. "I gotta go now, Henry. I'll talk to you later"

"Alright, just phone me when you're thinking of ringing this guy up" Henry said. "And I'll come over"

"Will do" James placed the iron back on its stand. "Thanks. See ya"

He hung up and put the phone onto the kitchen side, before he listened to the whispers in the hallway.

"Laura?" James called. The kitchen door opened and Laura's head popped round.

"Hey, Pops" She grinned.

"What are you up to?" James raised an eyebrow. "What are you hiding?"

"Dad, I want you to meet someone" Laura seemed to struggle for a moment. Fidgeting and banging the door with her knees. "Say hello…to Mira!"

Laura came from around the door, holding a small, beige dog with a white underbelly. For a moment, James stood and stared at the barking puppy before looking up at Laura.

"Mira's a Shiba Inu" Laura explained. "And she's a rescue dog. They found her on the streets, so apparently she likes Hip-Hop music"

"You made that up" James answered.

"Yeah, maybe" Laura giggled. "But she's so cute, Dad. Look"

Laura placed Mira on the floor, where she began to sniff the air and carpet. Snorting at the carpets texture, Mira then looked up at James and wagged her tail.

"Look at her tail!" Laura sat down on the floor with her. "It's so curly!"

"Yeah" James folded his arms. "Why have you brought her home?"

"She's a present for you" Laura said. "Someone to keep you company when I go back to my apartment"

Mira began to bark, then stood up on her hind legs and hopped towards James for attention. She sniffed his jeans and rubbed her head on his knee, before sitting down and scratching her neck.

"Laura" James sighed, still watching Mira. "A dog is a huge responsibility. It has to have its injections, it has to be taken out, fed, watered and loved"

"That's why I got her, it's something to keep you busy" Laura raised herself from the floor. "I'm not always going to be here, Dad. So, I got Mira to keep you company"

"Oh, Laura…" James couldn't help but smile. Mira then licked her small fluffy lips and then began licking her paws.

"Did I tell you she likes to wear headphones?" Laura asked.

"No" James chuckled.

"I put mine on her head when we were driving back from the kennels" Laura smiled, stroking Mira's head. "And she looks out the window and barks at passing cars, so she's just like you. Hate's terrible drivers. But, I can always take her back…"

"Stop" James said in defeat.

"So you'll keep her?" Laura smiled.

"Alright" James nodded. "I suppose I could. But, don't ever do anything like this again"

"I promise" Laura clapped her hands and jumped in excitement, making Mira stand on her hind legs and spin. "Look what I got her!"

Laura took an alien toy from her handbag and waved it in front of Mira, causing her to spin around and then sit perfectly still.

"Ain't it cool?" Laura asked passing the green toy over to James.

"An alien?" James smiled. "Here, Mira"

Mira politely took the toy from James and then sat on the tile floor next to his foot, chewing the soft toy that squeaked loudly.

"That" James patted the dogs back. "Is going to drive me nuts"

"Well, its like having another me in the house" Laura smiled. "Who's a good girl, Mira?"


	7. Chapter 7: Telephones

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 7

Telephones

"_Come to that happy land, come, come away.__  
__Why will you doubting stand, why still delay__?"_

Rain fell down from the grey sky in a slow, relaxing rhythm. The strong wind had turned into a soft breeze, which blew the golden autumn leaves onto the roads and sidewalks in a heap. It was a cold day, and the air was thick with the smell of wet pavement and fresh cut grass. As Alex swept away cold raindrops from his cheeks, he suddenly came to halt, causing people to dodge and walk around him. His dull hazel eyes were heavy, and slightly ached, due to the fact he had spent the previous night on one of his friends uncomfortable sofas. Unable to go back to Wheelers apartment after the way he spoke to him. The only thing he had to justify himself was the simple, idiotic fact that he hated hospitals. But it wasn't just that, he was fed up of everybody walking on eggshells around him and treating him like a child. Making sure he took his medication, taking him to get hospital checks, treating him as if he could break from a simple push, and the worst. Trying not to mention his parents or his brother—like they never existed-

It made him mad. Or, maybe he just wasn't used to the type of affection where people actually cared. He wouldn't even be surprised if Wheeler had decided to kick him out, Alex would probably find all his clothes on the doorstep if he went over to his place.

His eyes then came to a payphone that sat on the corner of the high street. Making his way towards the vandalised box, he took a few cents out of his jacket pocket while graciously passing through the crowd. As he stood in the see-through box, he pushed his money into the machine and began pressing the stiff number buttons, hoping that this time he will get an answer.

"Hm, hello?" A gentle voice answered. For a moment Alex hesitated, unable to get the words out of his mouth. Though, he admitted, he felt the warmth of calmness from hearing the familiar soft voice.

"Elle? It's me, Alex" There was a slight tone of nervousness in his voice.

"Alex? Oh my God!" Hearing the happiness in Elle's voice clamed Alex's nerves, he leaned against the phone machine and chuckled. "How are you? How's Wheeler? Have you seen him lately? I have been meaning to call but I've been busy with work and my Dad's been helping me move and—and—"

"Elle" Alex interrupted her. "I'm fine. We both are"

"Oh, good" Elle laughed. "I'm sorry. It's just this has come as a surprise. I wasn't expecting you calling me"

"Yeah, about that…" Alex lowered his voice. "I tried ringing you yesterday. But you must have been out"

"What's wrong? Alex?" Elle asked. "Are you okay? Nothings happened, has it?"

"No, nothing serious, I don't think" Alex sighed.

"What do you mean, you 'don't think'?" Elle giggled.

"Well…" Alex wiped away the raindrops that had fallen from his damp hair. "Did I tell you my place got broken into?"

"What? Seriously?" Elle said stunned. "Alex, you don't tell me anything!"

"Sorry" Alex laughed. "Yeah. And, me and Wheeler aren't exactly 'best pals' at the moment either"

"What the hell? I leave you guys for a few weeks and all hell breaks lose!" Elle's voice exploded through the phone speakers. "What's happened this time?"

"He tried taking me to a hospital" Alex admitted. "Fuck…That's not even the thing that pissed me off. He always assumes that if anything happens that is related back to Shepherd's Glen or fucking Silent Hill, then I'm suddenly going to go nuts or, I don't know, start drinking again…"

"You're not drinking again, are you?" Elle asked.

"What? No, no. Of course not!" Alex said, shocked that Elle could even say that after everything. "Why would you even think—"

"Listen, Alex. I sure he didn't mean anything by it" Elle said in a calming voice. "I'm sure Wheeler, just like me, is only trying to look out for you. That's all. We all have to support each other. Like you did for me, when…y'know, _that_ happened"

"Yeah. I'm sorry, you really don't need to hear this" Alex felt stupid, he was getting worked up about everything. Elle was right, as always.

"It's okay. It's nice talking about, yeah, about things. It helps" Elle was quiet for a moment before asking Alex the question. "Alex, why exactly did Wheeler try to take you to the hospital?"

"Oh…uh, well, it's…" Alex's mind became blank. His mouth then became dry. "It's because, well, something happened to his car"

"His car? What, did you take it joyriding again?" Elle asked with amusement in her voice.

"No. Uh, it's kinda hard to explain. I mean, it was the smell…" Alex became dizzy for a few seconds. "It was like I was back _there_ again. His car, it was like, it was…"

"Huh? It was, what? Alex, are you still there?" Elle raised her voice. "Alex! Hello?"

"I'm-I'm sorry" Alex took a deep breath in. "It doesn't matter. It wasn't anything really. I just didn't feel too well, so, he…"

"Alex…" Elle said. "Look, I'm, uh, coming back to Maine soon. New Hampshire does get a little boring after a while. And I would really, really love it if you and Wheeler had made up by then. So we could, all go out? Or stay in? Whatever you want really, I mean, it doesn't really matter. We could just hang out or something…I'm babbling again, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but I don't mind" Alex grinned to himself. Listening to Elle made life seem normal, and for that, she could talk all day. "I'd like it if you came and visited us. I miss your cooking."

"You didn't inherit your Moms cooking skills then?" Elle asked.

"Fuck no. I can't cook to save my life." Alex smiled. "I'd burn the flat down making jelly"

"Hehe, you did set fire to the microwave once" Elle reminded him. "You remember? Like, the whole TV dinner just blew up"

"It wasn't my fault" Alex laughed.

"Ha ha ha!" Elle inhaled deeply, before catching her breath. "I miss this"

"Me too" Alex agreed. "Look, I uh, I need to go. I have about twenty more seconds before the call cuts out"

"You're at a payphone, aren't you?" Elle laughed.

"Yeah…" Alex sighed. "I better go see him, Wheeler. Thanks, Elle"

"Anytime. I'll ring you, on your mobile. When I need somewhere to stay" Elle added. "Bye"

"Alright, I'll see you soon" Alex turned around and jumped with shock. There was another person outside waiting to use the phone. "Bye Elle"

After placing the telephone back on its holder, Alex quickly ran a hand through his dark brunette hair. The rain had finally stopped, and the bright sun had made the booth quite humid. He then opened the door, allowing the cool air to rush into the cramped space.

†

"James Wheeler?" Douglas asked standing up from his cooked breakfast. The café was small, stuffy and dark but was quite popular in the mornings. Many people had come through the door in couples, or in groups, and Wheeler was the only one to come in by himself. "Douglas Cartland"

"Nice to meet you" They both shook hands. Wheeler then heavily sat down, trying not to show the discomfort he got in his chest.

"Heh, sorry about the mess…" Douglas chuckled as he wiped some bread crumbs from his toast off the table. "I didn't have anything before I left the house"

"It's fine" Wheeler nodded. "Well, considering you wanna ask me some question, you better start explaining how you got my number. And, how you know about Shepherd's Glen"

"Right, right…" Douglas held his hands up. "I will. But, how about I buy you a coffee? No funny business. Just a good gesture"

"Alright" Wheeler finally said.

"Great" Douglas smiled.

†

"Rise and shine" Travis opened the living room curtains, allowing the brilliant sun to come through the raindrop covered window. Both him and Murphy had spent the night in a cheap motel, watching television and eating a Chinese takeaway. As the room had only one bed, Murphy said he would take the sofa, which in all fairness wasn't that bad. "C'mon, Murph, wake up"

"Uhg…" Murphy mumbled. His eyes were still closed and the comfy bed sheets beckoned for him to stay. Which he did. His back and bones ached from fixing cars, lifting, walking a few miles home after work. He was getting older, and he knew it.

As Travis filled the kettle with water he turned to see Murphy hadn't moved an inch. Shaking his head with a smile, he decided to leave him a while longer, as he needed the sleep. In fact, it was the first time Travis had ever seen him asleep. They had stayed up pretty late the previous night, discussing what they should do about the flat and the number Cheryl had given Travis. And, they both agreed, that they would phone up today, once Murphy was fully awake that is.

But, the apartment was something Travis couldn't seem to understand fully. The landlord had put the rust in the bathroom down to leakage, and had the nerve to accuse Travis of mistreatment of property. Of course, Travis just ignored him. He then noted that he and Murphy would have to take the fridge to the tip at some point. That just left the sink, which had stopped working all together. He had called a handyman up who said he would be there in the afternoon, which gave Murphy plenty of time to get dressed.

"Hm, sounds like someone is having a bit of a domestic" Travis noted listening to the people who were staying in the room next to them. The walls were like paper, and every now and again he would hear shouts or screams or a few swear words.

"Uhh…?" Murphy made a questioning noise, his voice muffled due to his face being buried into the pillow.

"You can't hear that?" Travis poured the hot water into the small white cups. _Everything in motels is miniature_. Travis thought.

"No…" Murphy turned to his side and wiped his sleepy eyes.

"Hm…" Travis held out the petite cup to Murphy. "Here"

"Thanks" As he sat up from the cotton sheets, Travis couldn't help but notice the scars across Murphy's bare back and shoulders. Deep, white-colored scars that were imbedded into his flash by something, Travis knew, not human. "Take a picture"

"S-sorry…I didn't mean to-" Travis stopped talking as he saw a smile spread across Murphy's face.

"Its fine" Murphy took a sip of the strong coffee Travis had made. "It's not like I lost a limb or anything. Is there any milk?"

"Here" Travis threw him a small milk sachet. "You sleep well?"

"Yeah" Murphy nodded. "Not bad"

"Good. Cause we got a long day ahead" Travis reminded him. "You're not working today are you?"

"No" Murphy replied.

"Right, well, we need to sort this whole fucking thing out" Travis stroked his stubble, mentally noting that he needed to shave. "I'd rather get it all out of the way"

"Whatever turns you on" Murphy replied, making Travis chuckle. "So, we're defiantly phoning this guy up? Maybe…this whole thing is just a one off?"

"Yeah, what if it isn't?" Travis smiled weakly. "It's not something I'm willing to risk. I, I just don't get it…"

"This hasn't happened to you before?" Taking another sip of coffee Murphy watched as Travis shook his head slowly. "Are you sure?"

"Nothing like this" He said. "I mean, this is, heck, it's fucking weird. We had blood pouring from our tap. I'm only used to going to work and my truck tires are flat and my windows have been smashed in, or getting an occasional creepy-as-fuck letter through the post"

"Right…" Murphy bowed his head. "Looks like we don't have a choice then, we can't exactly go to anyone else"

"It's worth a shot, phoning this Douglas up" Travis walked over to the phone that was on the bedside cabinet. "I'm pretty sure he'll know a lot more than we do"

"Hmm…" Murphy threw the bed sheets off of him, sat up and watched Travis.

"And you, before we do this" Travis pointed at him. "Go put some clothes on"

"Pfft…" Murphy smiled and headed for the bathroom. "Alright, Chief"

†

"Ha ha!" Wheeler laughed, and then pointed his half eaten toast at Douglas. "Well, y'know Doug, when God closes one door he opens another. I just hope it's not a trap door"

"Don't we all?" Douglas said.

Wheeler chuckled as he poured ketchup onto his plate. "I'm surprised you asked me to meet you here, and not say, a bar or something"

"James, I drink like a fish out of water" Both men laughed. As Wheeler took a long gulp of his coffee Douglas caught his breath and lowered his voice. "You say, um, Alex, was in a hospital up till 2007?"

"Yeah…" Wheeler nodded then took another gulp of tea. Finishing the cup he pushed it away. "Why?"

"The guy Cheryl met, he, he mentioned he picked up a hitchhiker around that time. Who, got discharged from the army" Douglas then added. "He was from Shepherd's Glenn"

"Yeah, around autumn time. That was Alex" Wheeler agreed. "His father, Adam Shepherd, I used to work with him. About… say September time, in 2003, his dad told everyone that he had left home"

"Did you find that odd?" Douglas asked.

"Well, yeah, I found it odd. But you see, his father, he wasn't exactly nice to Alex. I mean, at first, I thought he kicked Alex out or something" Wheeler scooped some bacon from his plate and ate it. Chewing the meat Wheeler looked up from his plate. "Then, a few years later, Alex shows up again. He said he joined the army and then got injured or something, but he didn't, he'd spent 4 years of his life stuck in a mental hospital. God knows what happened to him in that fucking place. You can't see it, because of his hair, but he's got scars and stitch marks on his head. Those motherfuckers fucking tortured him for 4 long years. He needed help after his brother's death, but no one wanted to help him. So, they stuck him in that place"

"Christ, he's okay now?" Douglas asked with great sympathy.

"Now he is" Wheeler took a bite out of his toast. "He hasn't always been. He's had his problems"

"I see…" Douglas looked at his wristwatch and then back at Wheeler. "So, he wasn't really a soldier. It was just something to use…"

"To repress his memories. A delusion, shall we say?" Wheeler finished Douglas's sentence. "That's why I'm always worrying about him…"

"God" Douglas laid heavily into his chair, making Wheeler grin.

"It's a lot to take in" Wheeler said. "I guess you're not used to this kind of thing"

"You'd be surprised" Douglas nodded. "So, do you think he'll be willing to talk to Cheryl? Nothing personal of course, just about what he knows about the Order or the town"

"You mean Silent fucking Hill?" Wheeler raised an eyebrow. "You know some shit about that town?"

"Yeah, a lot" Douglas scratched his scalp. "If you're interested, we could all meet up. You mentioned another person who was with you guys"

"Yeah, Elle Holloway" Wheeler said. "I suppose she'll be interested. I'd have to phone her of course"

"Yeah, there's no rush" Douglas smiled and he then looked at his empty mug of coffee. "Now, I don't about you, but I could do with a much…stronger drink"

"I like the sound of that" Wheeler agreed.

†

"Sorry, Henry…" James gave the younger man a helpless look as Mira began to chew the loose threads on the bottom of Henrys jeans. "Mira, stop"

"It's fine" Henry said merrily. He pulled his leg away from the dog and tucked it under his thigh. He was sat on the floor in the living room, playing with the small pup that had taken a liking to him. "Here, Mira…"

"Oh, God, sorry, did you want a drink?" James asked as he stopped in his tracks. Henry was kind enough to travel all the way from Ashfield, yet James had been running around the house, completely ignoring him. Trying to avoid the reason why he had come in the first place. But Henry didn't complain, as he didn't really like a fuss, but it did make James feel a little rude. "I'm just, looking for some account documents…"

"I'm fine" Henry replied. There was a long silence that made Henry feel hot and out of place, he wasn't normally awkward around James, but now, he could feel the unavoidable subject pressing on both of the men. "Eileen phoned me earlier" Henry blurted out, saying the first thing that might interest James. "She wanted me to go to one of her friend's parties or something with her. So I used you as an excuse that I couldn't go"

"What? Why?" James called out from the kitchen.

"I'm a bit of a…" Henry paused for a moment. "A wallflower"

"Ha!" James snorted. "A self-confessed wallflower. Henry, I know you are"

"Yeah…" Henry finally stood up and stretched. "So, uh, when did you get a dog?"

"I didn't. Laura did. Yesterday" James said followed by the shuffle of paper. "She's settled in well, even though she got me up at 5 this morning"

"Oh, right" Henry walked into the kitchen and saw James had sat down on the tile floor, surrounded by letters, documents and lone pieces of paper. "James…what are you doing?"

"I don't know" James admitted.

"You still wanna phone up, don't you?" Henry asked sitting on one of the high stools that surrounded the kitchen counter. "I could do it"

"You?" James raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I could dial the numbers" The response caused James to snort with laughter, knowing that Henry was just as shy on the phone.

"O-okay, t-that…" James took a deep breath in and shook his head at Henry. "That's made me feel a little more confident"

"Well, I'm glad" Henry lifted himself off the high stool for a moment to take his iPhone from his pocket and unlock it. "So, you'll do the honors?"

"Fine" Taking the phone, James wearily looked at it as if he'd never seen one before. "What am I supposed to do with this thing?"

"Use it. We don't live in the dark ages anymore" Henry chuckled. "Press the green phone symbol at the bottom of the screen"

"Okay…" James lightly touched the screen. "Now what?"

"Press the thing that says 'keyboard'" Henry instructed as Mira scampered into the kitchen holding her already ragged alien toy between her teeth.

"Jeez, I remember when these things actually had buttons" James sighed. "So I just type the number in?"

"Uh-huh" Henry nodded as he watched James pull out a crumpled piece of paper from his shirt pocket. He hesitated, looked up at Henry, and then slowly typed the numbers in.

"Jesus, like it wasn't hard enough already" James huffed regarding the iPhone. He then pressed the 'Call' button and put the phone to his ear.

They both sat in silence as they waited for someone to answer. Henry watched James intently, not too sure whether or not James would hang up. But he didn't.

"It's still ringing" James broke the silence.

"Put it on loud speaker" Henry said.

"How?" James gave him a confused look.

"Press 'Speaker' on the phone" Henry waited for James to find the button. Loud but blurred rings came from the phone that was now lying in the palm of James's hand. It took a few more second before the rings came to an abrupt stop.

"We're sorry. The number you have reached, is currently not available at this time, please check the number or try your call again—"

"What the hell?" Henry frowned. "He's changed his mind, he _really_ wants to talk now"

"Henry, I'm still here" James gave him a sideways glance. "We'll just have to try again"


	8. Chapter 8: Closer

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 8

Closer

"Travis Grady?" Douglas looked over to Wheeler who was zipping up his navy jacket. They were both standing outside the café, prepared to go to the closet bar and talk the day away about sport, life and even woman. That wasn't going to happen. Turning his back to the other man Douglas pressed his mobile phone closer to his ear. "Wait, wait, wait, Thee Travis Grady?"

"I am talking to Douglas, right?" The voice on the other end seemed unsure and slightly anxious. "Douglas Cartland?"

"That's me" Douglas nodded and then turned back around to Wheeler who was leaning against the wall, giving him a questioning look. Douglas held his hand up and gestured he'd be a minute. "Cheryl said you might ring"

"Yeah, well…" There was a paused on the other end. "I have, and I need your help"

"Help?" Douglas frowned. "Why?"

"I can't exactly explain" Travis sighed with exhaustion. "Not on the phone anyway, but, I'll say this. You've had some trouble with the Order before haven't you?"

It took a few seconds for Douglas to answer as he fell silent and thought deeply.

"I have" He said simply.

"Well, we might have something common then" Travis laughed nervously. "I just need to talk"

"Are you alone?" Douglas asked quite sceptically. He was sure he heard another voice coming through the speakers, a voice, a murmur. He had someone with him. Or nearby.

"Yeah, I am" Travis replied smoothly without a hint of dishonesty in his voice. He was a good actor. "I'm at the Northwood Motel"

"I could meet you there" With a smile Douglas looked over to Wheeler and planned the roads he would take to get there in his head. "In fact, this is perfect. What number are you?"

"Number 12" Travis answered. "How long will you be?"

"About, 20 minutes" Douglas glimpsed at his wristwatch and then over to his car that was parked on the other side of the road. "You can tell me what's going on"

"Fine, I'll see you then" And with that Travis hung up leaving Douglas with a raised eyebrow. He chuckled knowing what was to come.

"Who the heck was that?" Wheeler asked.

"How about I tell you while I drive?" As Wheeler gave him a puzzled look Douglas's phone began to vibrate in his hand.

†

"He's coming here" Murphy said. It was more of a statement than a question and it led him to think whether he should stay. He wanted to find out more, yet he couldn't risk being noticed, by anyone. It made him feel sick and angry that he'd have to spend the rest of his life hiding and never moving forward. It also made him sad. Disappointed.

"You can go back to the apartment" Travis slumped onto the squeaking motel bed and rubbed his sore eyes. "A guys coming to fix the sink later, I'm not exactly sure what time, so you'll just have to stay in and wait"

"Okay" Murphy nodded.

"At least now we're actually getting somewhere" Travis smirked then looked over to the younger man who was leaning against the kitchen counter, expecting him to be a more happier and satisfied much like himself. He wasn't. He didn't _look _happy. Murphy was a very distant person, and Travis always found it difficult reading him. "You okay?"

"I'm fine" Murphy began to put his beaten up trainers on and pull on his green jacket. Afterwards he opened the front door of the motel room allowing the cool fresh air to invade inside the musky smelling place and then stepped into the sunlight. "I'll see you later"

"Yeah, see you later" Travis replied even though Murphy had already shut the door.

†

All Henry could do whilst James talked on the phone was listen quietly, which, in all fairness, he was used to. As the loud speaker was no longer on- due to the fact that James didn't select it the fourth time they rung- Henry only had James's words and expressions to go on. So far, James wasn't saying that much but nodded every now and again.

"Shh" Henry picked up Mira as she began to bark at the birds flying past the kitchen window. He stroked her fur gently while she squirmed in his arms, positioning herself in a more comfortable position.

"Uh-huh" James muttered sitting on a kitchen stool. "What's his name?"

There was a pause before James frowned and glanced over to Henry. He opened his mouth, then closed it again as if the words he was about to say disappeared. All James could really do was listen and casually agree.

"Wait, Douglas…" James once again looked over to Henry, making the younger man quite insecure under his gaze. "I have a friend, he's called Henry…Yeah, yeah, he's here with me"

Slowly Henry began to walk towards the stool opposite James holding Mira in the joint in his arm. As he sat down he heard the front door open with a small thump causing Mira to shake her tail uncontrollably.

"Dad!" Laura shouted down the hall. "Dad, I got food!"

"Yeah, he's been to Silent Hill" Henry instantly looked over to James who had his head in his hand. "No, no, nothing like that. Okay. So, this guy, Travis was it?"

"Dad, are you listening—" Laura barged into the kitchen to see Henry getting licked on the face by Mira and James looking at her as if she was Holy Mary. "Oh, hey, Henry…"

"Hello" He smiled politely pushing Mira away from his face.

"Who's he talking to?" She pointed over to James then placed the white plastic bag on the kitchen counter that smelled strongly of cooked meat and freshly-made bread.

"A guy called Douglas" Henry replied carefully placing Mira on the floor.

"What?" Laura said in a childish tone and held Mira lovingly. "What's silly Daddy doing, Mira? Huh? Huh? What's he doing?"

"Uh-huh, okay. When?" James stood up and walked into the more silent living room. "Henry, too? Okay, where does she live?"

"So, um…" Laura looked up at Henry and then lowered her voice. Her plan of getting James out of the room worked, and Henry, impressed with her strategy, chuckled at her facial expression as James walked past her. "He did it? Is he okay? He didn't freak or anything?"

"Yeah, he's fine" Henry reassured. "Don't worry, your Dad can deal with a lot"

"I know" Laura pouted. "He _can_ do a lot for an old man"

"Heh, so, are you okay with it all?" Henry asked gingerly.

"Sure" Laura shrugged. "I mean, it's not like it affected me. He tells me about it, on good days, and then gets angry about it, on bad days. Sometimes I wish I understood what he went through, what _you _went through. But I can't. I was just a child when it all happened. Yeah, I saw some monsters. But only in human form"

"Human form?" Henry frowned as a flash of Walter Sullivan's face came into his mind. Those dark green eyes, showing no emotion, no heart, just pools of nothingness that adsorbed anything in their gaze. It sent a cold, painful shiver down Henry's spine but he simply shrugged it off.

"Ugh, just some…" Laura struggled for a moment to get the words out of her mouth. "Stupid…fat…pathetic loser who thought it was okay to shoot a dog… and murder people…I met him on the way to Silent Hill. He was a…pitiful loner…"

"Oh…" Henry blinked a few times before replying. "I guess…some humans are monsters, they just hide and wait to hurt people…innocent people…"

"You got that right" Laura agreed nodding her head. "Dad only told me that you went to Silent Hill a few days ago. But you seem pretty stable to me…"

"Heh, I guess…" Henry paused. "I guess some people cope with it better than others"

"Hmm, what's your secret?" Laura asked amused with her own question.

"It would have to be…" Pretending to thinking deeply Henry then answered. "Talking about it…"

"Really?" She asked surprised. "With who? Some sort of therapist?"

"No, just people" Henry shrugged. "Like your Dad and Eileen. She's a friend who went to Silent Hill too"

"Ohh…" Laura titled her head forwards and tucked her straight blonde hair behind her ears.

"That and constantly checking if anyone's in my apartment, turning every single light on and sleeping with my eyes open" Henry quickly added.

"Pfft, ha ha ha!" Laura laughed just as James walked back into the kitchen.

"Get your coat" James said as he handed over Henry's phone. "We're going to visit someone"

"Who?" Laura asked still giggling.

"No. Not you" James shook his head. "You stay here with Mira"

"Oh, c'mon!" Laura sulked. "At least tell me where you two are going"

"Yeah, James" Henry agreed. "What did he say? Are we going to his house or…?"

"No…" James wiped his brow with his hand. "We're going to visit someone called Cheryl"

"Cheryl?" Laura pulled a displeased face.

†

It didn't take long for Murphy to get back to Travis's apartment, even now, he could see it just in the distance among the other ageing buildings. He walked with his face down, avoiding eye contact with everyone and trying his best to stay away from crowds. He felt like he had lost his identity. Just some man who walked with no meaning or life. He didn't feel himself, he was never happy, he even began to consider that being depressed was going to be the only emotion he would always feel.

He came to a halt at a crossing, distancing himself from the people who had also stopped. Rising his head he looked over to a young woman who was gripping onto her baby's pram, and then over to a lean male student who was holding his busting art folder and then over to two pretty females who were chatting merrily. Normal people, with normal lives, going about their daily business. How he missed it. Having a life. He wanted his back so much.

The neon green light came on, instantly causing people from both sides of the road to meet in the middle and clash with each other. As Murphy easily passed people he saw a small baby shoe fall from the woman's pram as she tilted it upwards and then push it onto the sidewalk. Without a second thought Murphy picked up the soft and warm shoe and called out to the woman.

"Excuse me? Ma'am?" The young brunette turned around with a confused look, then instantly smiled with embarrassment when Murphy handed over her baby's shoe. "I think this is yours"

"Oh, thank you" Her voice light and smooth. "He still hasn't got used to shoes"

"Heh" Murphy smiled as she tucked the shoe into her coat pocket.

"Thank you" With a final smiled she left Murphy and headed on her way. It felt good. Talking to people.

Turning in the opposite direction Murphy headed down the high street and headed towards the apartment district.

†

"Found it" Wheeler called out. This was followed by Douglas casually jogging down the hallway towards room 12. Once he reached the other male he was already panting and wiping his head.

"O-oh, oh good" He wheezed. "He didn't mention it was on the third floor"

"C'mon Doug, I know we're getting old. But not that old, man" Wheeler shook his head. "The motel isn't even that big"

"After you" Douglas gestured towards the door.

"No, no, after you" Wheeler replied shaking his head. "This was _your_ idea"

"No, no, after—oh, forget it" Douglas loudly knocked on the door and then fell silent to listen for movement from inside. It took a few second and then both heard the rattling of the lock. The door opened and both were surprised to see a tall, muscular man who looked about Douglas's age.

"Travis Grady" Douglas held out his hand. "Douglas Cartland, and this is James Wheeler"

"Right" Travis shook his hand firmly. "I'm sorry, but…uh…"

"Yeah. Why did you bring me along?" Wheeler asked Douglas.

"Look. I can explain everything" Douglas held his hands up. "Travis, James has also been to Silent Hill. In, uh, 2007…?"

Wheeler nodded his head and allowed Douglas to carry on talking.

"Please, he's got as much question as you do" Douglas explained. With sigh and then a glance at Douglas, Travis held out his hand towards the second man.

"Nice to meet you" He smiled and they both shook hands. "Travis Grady, local truck driver"

"Call me Wheeler. Police officer. And paranoid nut job" Though the last remark made Travis chuckle, he could feel his heart tighten and he quickly moved back inside the motel room, followed by both men. Murphy wasn't going to like this. Not one bit.

†

Looking out the living room window Cheryl saw no car, nor anyone walking up her garden path or down the street. She sunk back down onto her sofa and looked down at her quick sketch that made her fingers black with pencil lead. Once she got the call from Douglas stating that he had given James her address, she felt excitement, fear and even shock. But she wanted to meet him. Needed to. After Douglas had told her James's story she didn't feel angry and she didn't feel disgusted, but she felt, sad. Very sad, for him, for his wife, even though she didn't know them. But somehow, like she did with Travis, she felt connected somehow. She felt the pain he had, after all, she would forever be connected to that town and will probably feel something for everyone who had been there. Like a bond.

A car passed her window and she looked over the sofa cushions, scanning the outside she saw nothing but her neighbor pass with her 6 year old child. Smiling she laid back onto the cushion again and continued to draw. Within half an hour her front doorbell rang. She shot up and ran both hands through her hair. Taking a quick look in the mirror that was hung in the hallway she licked her dry lips and smiled.

"Don't be creepy, Cheryl" She told herself. "They. Are. Just. People."

There was then a knock that caused her to speedily walk down the rest of the hall, her heart thumping in her chest and her breath short. She unlocked the door and opened it.

"Hello" Cheryl stood and smiled.


	9. Chapter 9: The Lights Are On

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 9

The Lights Are On

"Here you go" Cheryl hummed as she came from the kitchen and smiled at the three figures that were sat in a perfect row on her coach. After placing the tray that balanced four cups of tea and biscuits that were spread neatly across the porcelain plate on the small wooden coffee table, she then sat down on the single cushioned chair opposite them, tucking her legs under thighs and taking a long gulp of tea. She had her smile plastered on her face the entire time her guest had arrived, and it had begun to make her cheeks ache.

"Thank you very much!" Laura beamed as she took the hot mug from in front of her and held it between her hands for warmth. On her left sat Henry who looked intently at the painted pictures that were hung up on Cheryl's large walls, he couldn't make up his mind whether he liked them or not. They had a certain dark edge to them. He ignored the creeping feeling of dread and smiled shyly as he took the warm mug of tea, not wanting to act ungrateful. And on her right sat James who looked straight ahead with a stark expression on his face as he mentally noted to himself to not be swayed by Laura's attempt to tag along, which, clearly worked. He felt like the walls around him were closing in, something that happened whenever he had a panic attack. He ignored it and continued to focus on calming his breathing.

There was another long moment of uncomfortable silence as Cheryl looked at her guests through curious hazel eyes. They didn't look like a bunch of people she would have expected to have gone to Hell and back again. In fact, the three of them were very different from each other. The brunette looked cutely coy, the young woman was extremely chatty and optimistic and the older blond man had a surly and unwelcoming aura about him. James. She seemed to be drawn to him more than the other two.

"I like your pictures" Laura suddenly said making Cheryl blink as if she was snapped back from a trance. "Did you paint them?"

"Um…yes, I did" Cheryl nodded looking over her own artwork with a critical gaze.

"They're different" Laura added as she took a sip of the drink. "Sorry, is it alright if I use your bathroom?"

"Oh, sure" Cheryl nodded. "It's upstairs, the very last door on right"

"Thanks" Laura gave Henry an innocent look as she stood and walked out of the deadly quiet room. "I'll be right back"

"Um, so…" Cheryl looked over to the youngest man with a friendly look on her lightly freckle covered face. Tucking a lose strand of hair behind her ear Cheryl smiled nervously. "I'm sorry, Douglas told me only two of you were coming, he must have—"

"No, he was right" James interrupted with a tired tone. "She just invited herself"

"I see…" Cheryl giggled. "Laura was it?"

"Yeah, my daughter" James said.

"Oh, right. Your daughter?" A questioning look spread across her face. "She went to, um, y'know…uh…"

"Silent Hill" Henry said softly. He knew, from James, that even saying the towns name would make a person who had been there feel uncomfortable and alert. Of course, it didn't matter to him that much, Henry just put it down to him not having a strong enough connection to the town. Though, he did go there as a child, and in his early twenties to take pictures of the beautiful landmarks and areas.

"Yes" Cheryl placed her half-empty mug on the floor before returning her gaze to James. "I know…that this, is a little odd"

"I guess" James leaned forwards and rested his elbows on his knees before looking into Cheryl's eyes. "So, what do you want to know?"

"Oh, well, um" Cheryl was baffled for a moment due to the fact James was easily willing to discus what happened to him. She held her index finger up before rushing to the kitchen to grab her notepad and pencil, and then returned. "I'm not going to ask anything personal, just what you saw, and if you don't want to answer that's fine, okay?"

"Okay" James replied. With a heavy sigh Cheryl looked over to Henry then back to James with a sweeping motion. "I'd rather him be here"

"Right" Tucking her legs under her thighs again Cheryl opened her mouth, prepared to start with her first question.

"Before we start" James said smoothly. "I have a question for you"

"Oh, oh, okay" Cheryl smiled cheerily. "I guess, I guess I was expecting that"

"Why?" James asked after a pause. "I mean, exactly, why are you doing this?"

"I should explain…" Placing the notepad and pencil on the coffee table Cheryl hesitated, then lifted her head and narrowed her eyes. "In fact, I'll show you"

Standing up she gestured for James and Henry to follow her down the hallway, then up the stairs that creaked under their weight. The top floor was spacious, the wallpaper was a light cream with the repeating pattern of ivy imprinted onto it, and the carpet was spotless considering the light color that would show mud and dust quite easily. Straight ahead was a plain white door, completely different to the other brown wooden ones as it had a huge lock hanging off it and the white paint seemed to be peeling off the wood, like Cheryl had been maintaining the rest of the household expect that door. With piercing green eyes James saw as Cheryl took a key from her jean trouser pocket then pushed it into the lock's keyhole, twisting it until it sprang open. The door opened gently, allowing James to see the back of canvas paintings that were still stood on their painting stands.

"After you" Cheryl gestured for James to go first. His feet were heavy, he could clearly hear Henry's breathing from behind him and the world seemed to slow down. He walked into the room, welcomed by the strong smell of paint and chalk. He froze, shocked with the sight he saw as he looked at the sketches and paintings that were hung or pinned up onto the plain white walls. Monsters. People. Town buildings shrouded with fog. Bloody figures that he couldn't quite make out. Wheelchairs. Fire. A door that seemed to be sealed by huge chains. A strange round symbol. A lake. He was in a room filled with nightmarish images, and he could feel himself cowering before them, like they were closing in around him. All of them, a mixture of red, black and grey that darkened his sane mind.

"What the hell?" Henry whispered walking inside the room. "What the hell is this?"

"There're more" Cheryl replied pointed towards the shelves that held scrapbooks, sketchbooks and folders full of drawings. "You see, this is why. I feel like I know you both, even though I've never met you before in my life. But I see you in my head. And I see that town as well"

"This is what you see?" Henry asked looking over his shoulder.

"Yeah" Cheryl nodded with a saddening look. "I was born in Silent Hill, and I feel everything that happens in that place. It's something I can't escape from. It tells me that every night. On days it makes me sick and I can't even get out of bed. Then, it makes me sad and I can't stop crying. And then, on others, for a short time, I feel normal and happy…"

"James…?" Henry leaned forward with concern in his voice. "James? James, what's wrong?"

"It's him…" James whispered with a strange calm about him. "He always follows me…"

"Who?" Henry frowned. At first Henry didn't see what James was staring at. There were so many pictures that he couldn't even see the walls underneath them all. He looked over to James, then to the sketch that showed a large male who wore a rusty pyramid-shaped helmet that hid its face completely, and looked extremely painful, more of a torture device than headwear. "Him?"

"I drew that a few years ago" Cheryl said coming closer to both of the men.

"James, are you okay?" Henry asked again. "James, we can go, if you want?"

"I'm sorry, but, I thought…" Cheryl fell silent as James turned around and walked out of the room followed by Henry. "I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, what are you guys doing?" Laura asked as she came from the bathroom to see James looking over the stair banister to the ground below. "What happened?"

"So, uh…Cheryl…" James turned around to the young woman who had already placed the lock back onto the door again. "You wanted to talk?"

†

He tried phoning him again, standing on the street corner he placed his tool box on the floor and noticed that there were no clouds in the sky. Instead, just clear, crystal blue sky that made his heart swell with wanting to be forgiven. The air carried the smell of fast food that made his stomach ache, but eating wasn't one of his top priorities.

"Hey, Wheeler. It's me" Alex mumbled as disappointed filled him once again. "Look, I, uh. Just ring me back when you get this. I'm sorry about yesterday. See you later"

He pressed the hang up button before shoving his mobile into the back pocket of his work trousers. With a sigh he began walking down the street clutching the tool box in his right hand whilst holding a piece of torn off paper in the other. Reading the scribbled down address he noticed it was his last stop of the day. His last job. Great. He needed to talk to Wheeler. He tended not to think about things when he was working, it was a place to forget and be normal for a few hours until the customer pays you. His job was a good distraction. Besides, he enjoyed fixing things.

After going down a busy street he saw the apartment building and his gut let out another rumble of hunger. Ignoring it he jogged across the road before coming to a front door of the aged building, he looked at the flaking walls, the dusty windows and then the piping. Of course, they needed refitting. But Alex wasn't here for that, instead he was here for a broken sink.

A man who walked out the building gave Alex a casual smile as he held the door open for him.

"Thanks, man" With a slight nod Alex looked around the lounge of the echoing building. In honesty, it wasn't that bad, it just seemed quiet. The wallpaper looked like it was recently pasted on and he could still smell the fresh paint that came from upstairs.

"You here for the sink?" Alex snapped his head towards the staircase and saw a middle-aged man walk down them. "It's room 302, sixth floor. Someone should be in"

"Oh, oh right. Thanks" Alex mumbled.

"How much will it cost?" The balding man asked as he took the newspaper from under his arm and opened it to the sport section. He gave Alex a suspicious look before lowering his head over the rim of the newspaper.

"I'll have to see what's wrong first" Alex replied.

"Oh, alright" He seemed quite annoyed, or frustrated. "Just let me know if those tenants are causing trouble, or acting strange. People are saying they can hear weird noises coming from that room…I'd throw them out on their asses if it was that simple. Just keep your eyes open"

"O-okay…" Alex replied. The man said it like it was an order. Without another word Alex began to jog up the steps towards the sixth floor.

†

"He's out?" Eileen bit her pink lips with a hurt look on her face. In return Frank nodded whilst he continued to open his mail with a small knife. "Where?"

"I'm not sure…" Frank ran a hand through his thinning hair. "He left early this morning…"

"Oh, right" Eileen sweetly smiled and then a disappointed look crossed her face. "I guess, I'll have to come back later…"

"Have you tried ringing him?" Frank suggested.

"I've rung him twice. His phone is switched off" Eileen sighed.

"Now, now, I'm sure he's not ignoring you" Frank chuckled. "He's probably working or, maybe his phone isn't working"

"Hmm, I doubt that, Frank" Eileen smiled then her olive eyes looked towards the staircase. "This place hasn't changed…"

"Heh heh, some places never do" Frank agreed.

"It only feels like yesterday when I moved out" Looking over to the elderly man she glanced down at the reception desk in a shy manner. "I guess, I should go, tell Henry I called"

"Will do" Frank gave her a warm smile. "Don't be a stranger"

"Bye, Frank" With a small wave Eileen walked out of the apartment building. The gravel underneath her boots crunched as she made her way down the pathway towards the subway. Lifting her head to the higher floors she saw her old room that had the curtains closed. She smiled to herself, knowing that those were the same curtains she had when she lived in room 303. Almost ten years, and Frank still hadn't replaced them. Next to her old room was Henrys, the curtains were drawn back and she could just see a picture hung up on his wall next to the TV. A picture he took of course.

She continued to walk towards the busy Ashfield town streets when something caught her eye, a flicker of black. She blinked a few times, wondering if she had something in her eye, then stopped walking and frowned curiously at Henrys room. She thought she saw something. Tilting her head her mind wondered if Henry was actually in and avoiding her. No, he wouldn't do something so childish. Taking a step forward she narrowed her eyes prepared for something to happen. Nothing.

"Calm down, Eileen" She whispered to herself. Though she tried to convince herself it was her imagination, her eyes never left the room 302. "It's nothing…it's…"

With a harsh slam a hand landed on the window from the inside, and slid down the glass leaving a thick trail of red. As if someone was crawling on the floor and tried to open the window. A scream was trapped in the back of Eileen's throat as she gazed at the large hand that was lifelessly falling down the window pane. Dead.

_Mommy…mommy…wake up…mommy, why are you sleeping? Wake up, please. Mommy…_

"O-o-oh God…!" Without a second thought Eileen ran back into the apartment building. Inside Frank was merrily sweeping the floor, and from the terrified breaths he could hear he looked up to see Eileen cry like a child. With a concerned look he walked towards her, and held her tightly as she wept.


	10. Chapter 10: Memories Of The Fog

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 10

Memories Of The Fog

"_Oh, we shall happy be, when from sin and sorrow free.__  
__Lord, we shall live with Thee, blest, blest for aye."_

It was the knock on the door that caused Murphy to jolt with unease. The air in the apartment was thick and heavy ever since he came back, he couldn't tell if it was just him but it had caused an anxious feeling to crawl under his skin. He felt hot and lightheaded. Walking towards the knocking he glanced over to the sink with a stern look, and then peered through the peephole. It was a blurred figure of a man, from what he could tell, he was facing away from the door and looking down the hallway. Taking the door-chain off Murphy allowed a heavy sigh to escape his lips before the damaged door slowly creaked open. The broken handle and hinge rattled as Murphy caught the door with his hand to stop it slamming into the wall.

"Oh, hey, I'm here to fix—" Alex's mouth gaped open as his brown eyes met the familiar face. Within fleeting seconds a waterfall of thoughts and actions came into his mind, but he couldn't focus on them properly. He was frozen stiff on the doorstep of a guy who possibly phoned the police after himself and Wheeler left the garage. Maybe he wouldn't recognise him, but from sheer expression from the older mans face, Alex knew, he did. _Run._ The shock melted away, everything returned back to normal, causing the silence to make Alex want to be sick. _Run._

"Hey—!" Murphy grabbed the back of Alex's shirt just as he began to turn around and run back down the hallway, causing the stitches in the fabric to snap. With aggressive hisses and yells Murphy pinned the other man up against the white wall next to the apartment door, causing Alex to squirm underneath his hard grip. It was the only thing that came into Murphy's head. He couldn't let him go. Not now. Everything was happening too fast. The older man couldn't phone the police, nor did he have a right do this to another person. But he had a feeling in his gut that this guy knew something. The whole car thing. The blood.

"Get the fuck off me, man!" Alex felt the hands around his shoulders tighten their grip. "I said, get the fuck off—!"

With all his strength Alex punched the stranger in the face, making his knuckles crack loudly and bruise almost instantly. Murphy could only see flickering white lights that bounced off the walls. His cheek felt tight and for a moment he was dazed from what the other man had done, but soon noticed Alex was edging away from his loose grip. Fighting the sharp pain that had began to spread across the right side of his face Murphy pushed Alex to his original place and held his shirt firmly in his hands.

"Y'know, you wouldn't have run if you didn't have something to hide" He spat. With those words Alex suddenly felt exhausted, and his struggling wasted away to nothing as his body became completely limp, he was right. He couldn't look into Murphy's fierce eyes, and instead cocked his head to the right in a huff of frustration.

"What are you going to do?" Alex gritted his teeth.

"I don't know" Murphy replied huffing loudly. "I'd phone the police, but…"

"But, what?" Alex chuckled. "What the fuck are they going to do?

"Your car…" Alex shook his head stiffly then glimpsed over to the man that towered over him.

"I know" Alex whispered with the undertone of spite in his words. "You wouldn't understand"

Murphy wasn't sure how to react to those words. He was stumped. In the back of his mind he knew a normal person would phone the police, heck, they would have phoned the police once they saw a car covered in blood. They would have done something. Anything. Excuse after excuse Murphy had thought of just to justify why he didn't do anything that day. But now, Alex's words reminded him of his own, when Travis took him to that sleazy bar. _You wouldn't understand. _

"Did you kill anyone?" Murphy asked suddenly tightening his grip on Alex's black shirt.

"What? No, no, look, man. I didn't—" Alex's eyes widened. "I didn't do anything!"

"Why was it like that then, huh?" Murphy asked firmly. "It couldn't have just appeared there"

"I don't know…" Alex admitted. It was the truth. He didn't know why the car was like the way it was. "I don't know"

"You don't know" Murphy repeated. His glare made the younger man feel so small and powerless. "Bullshit"

"I'm telling you the truth!" With the small outburst Alex shoved Murphy's hands away. They both stood in the silent corridor staring at each other with hate boiling underneath their skin. "I don't know…"

"That guy…" Murphy noticed the change in Alex voice. He sounded more desperate, upset even. "He said…you're not well. I just…something happened to the apartment the day I came back from the garage…"

"Am I supposed to care?" Alex asked.

"No. I guess not" Murphy narrowed his eyes. "But it was the same kind of shit I saw in your car. Now. Please explain"

"I've told you! I've got no idea" Alex ran his hands through his hair and took a deep breath in. His eyes then shot open when he realised what Murphy had just said. "Your apartment. Look, man, I don't know anything about this"

"Enough—" Murphy yelled. "–with the fucking bullshit! Why did you run then? Huh? What, you're shy or something?"

"Fuck off" Alex sneered. "Just phone the police! Go on, I don't care. Do whatever you want. I'll wait here —"

"Oh please" Murphy rolled his eyes. "You really don't know?"

"I don't" Alex shook his head. "Really"

"Fine" Murphy raised his hand to touch his cheekbone, but hissed and pulled away once he made contact with his sore flesh. He licked his teeth and could taste the bitterness of blood. "Just go…"

"Don't you have a broken sink?" Alex called after him as Murphy went back into his apartment. In honestly, Alex wanted to know more about what happened the day the he came back from the garage. He needed to know what happened to his apartment, and if so, why. He received a glare back as Murphy turned around. "You're just letting me go? After all that?"

"Yeah" Murphy looked down to the floor. "It's not like you're going to tell me anything"

"Man, seriously…" Alex leaned on his hip. "Just trust me"

"You want me to trust a guy who just punched me in the face?" Murphy raised an eyebrow. "You're from _there_ aren't you?"

"I'm sorry about that" Alex said, then frowned. "From where?"

"Heh…" Murphy grinned maliciously. "Like you don't fucking know"

"No, I don't" A sudden pain pulsed through Alex's skull. He sucked on his teeth but the pain grew and grew, he heard something that sounded much like a kettle ready to be taken off the stove. It grew louder, and began to sound like a high pitched scream. The russet haired man said something, but it sounded like Alex was under water. He couldn't hear anything clearly. With another moan he collapsed onto the floor.

†

"Alright, Dad" Elle smiled as looked at herself in the bathroom mirror. Trapping the phone between her cheek and shoulder she began to take her blonde hair down. She rubbed her head before turning towards the bath that was slowly filling with hot water, the steam rising from the tub and making the window and mirror cloud up. "Dad, I get it. It'll be fine. Anyway, I'm going to Maine soon. To visit people. Why else?"

She walked out of the bathroom and into her bedroom to shut the curtains. She sat on her bed and replied to her Dad with a simple 'yeah' and 'uh-huh' when he spoke.

"Dad, look" Elle sighed. "I'm going to get a bath now. I'll talk to you tomorrow. Okay, then maybe in a few days. I won't, I promise. Bye, love you too"

She hung up, placed the phone back on her bedside cabinet then took her socks off. As she walked back into the bathroom she unzipped her jeans and threw her socks into the laundry basket. Within minuets she was completely undressed and dipping herself into the wide bathtub, allowing the bubbles to covered the sides of her skinny frame. She laid back and closed her eyes, listening to the relaxing sound of the water pouring into the tub. Covering her arms in soap she yawned as her eyes suddenly felt heavy. The light bulb that swung softly in the centre of the roof flickered causing Elle to shake her head. _You gotta be kidding. I only changed that a few weeks ago. _

She felt something gently stroke her leg but then shrugged it off as the plug chain. Another moment passed until the light began to flicker again. With an annoyed sigh she quickly washed her face and leaned her head on the bathtubs side. She daydreamed for a while, then, saw a black shadow in the water. She moved her foot to make a ripple in the water, causing the shadow to disappear. Confused she blinked and held her knees close to her chest.

Lowering her head she closed her eyes, wanting to fall asleep in the warmth of the water. She felt strangely relaxed, something that she hadn't experience in a long time. There was a sudden strong stench of iron, making her wrinkle her nose in disgust. Fluttering her eyes open she screamed and splashed about in the water. The water had turned thick and red. It stuck to her like glue and caused her to retch. It was blood. And it was pouring from the tap. She jumped out of the bath and looked at it horrified, only to realise the water had returned to its normal state.

"F-fuck, oh God. What the fuck?" She whispered to herself as the blub once again flickered. Grabbing the fluffy white towel that was laid on the sink side she shakily wrapped herself up and continued to gaze at the water. Elle slowly dipped her finger in to make sure it was water. It was.

She staggered away, grabbed the bathroom door knob and froze. The sound of splashes echoed around the tile room. Turning back around to face the noise she let out a whimper before a blue swelled hand grabbed the side of the tub. "Let me out…"

†

"No way" Laura gazed at Henry in absolute horror. "He was a serial killer?"

"You didn't say it was him, Henry" James looked over to Henry who was sat next to Cheryl. All four of them were surrounded with pictures, paper, drinks and snacks. They had spent hours upon hours talking about the town, and not once had they crossed something twice. "Walter Sullivan, he committed suicide in jail"

"Yeah" Henry nodded looking over to Cheryl who was flipping through a sketchbook. "How do you know?"

"I read about it in a newspaper article" James then added. "I saw his grave in that town as well"

"Well, he _was _supposedly dead in 1993" Henry nodded. "It's not a surprise you saw his grave"

"Wait, wait" Laura held up her hands in confusion. "I don't get it. He was dead, but somehow, he was killing people. How? I mean, was he _really _dead?"

"He completed the first part of the ritual" Henry leaned forward and thought deeply for a few seconds. "And then committed suicide. Afterwards, there were more murders. But the police thought it was a copy-cat due to Sullivan being dead. But the thing was that when a murder was committed, the crime scene had no finger prints, or fibers, no weapon, nothing…"

"Because…" Laura looked at Henry then nodded her head. "A ghost can't leave behind evidence? Is that what you're saying?"

"Yep" Henry agreed. "You got it. Sullivan pretty much killed the rest of his victims in this, some sort of, world. Like his own nightmare realm or something. Then, when he killed them there, they died in the real world as well"

"How did his body end up in your apartment then?" James asked rubbing his chin. "I mean, obviously, he was a ghost. So, what about his body?"

"Yeah" Laura nodded. "How do you explain that?"

"I guess…" Henry shrugged "His ghost put it there…?"

"Ohh, creepy" Laura shuddered then turned to Cheryl. "You can't make this stuff up can you?"

"Hmm, Walter Sullivan…" Cheryl pouted. "He was an orphan. Led to believe that your apartment was his Mother"

"Honestly" Laura placed her mug on the coffee table. "How can anyone think that a room, a room, can be your Mother? I mean, how?"

"The Order can make an innocent child believe anything" Cheryl looked over to Laura. "Especially when they mentally torture them"

"Jeez, these guys, The Order?" Laura received a nod from Cheryl. "They sound pretty, sorry Dad, fucked up"

"They are" Cheryl agreed.

"Look, uh, how about—"Henry began.

"You said something about still hearing things in the night" James smoothly changed the subject. "Like, voices, or something like that"

"Yeah, it's crying more than anything" Henry nodded reflecting back on his time alone in his apartment. "And, sometimes, I can see a shadow coming from underneath my bedroom door when I'm trying to sleep—"

"Move" Laura interrupted. "Like, why do you still live there?"

"I uh…" Henry smiled. "Well, actually, I'm thinking of renting a house somewhere. Now that I'm earning enough money to do so"

"Great" Cheryl smiled. "You think it'll help?"

"Can't say" Henry answered lowering his brows. "Maybe it will, maybe it won't-"

"Henry, check your phone" James suddenly said in a serious tone causing the three figures to look towards him. "You too, Laura. I've got a LOT of missed calls from Frank. And a message"

"Okay" Henry gave James a suspicious look as he took his phone out of his beige coat. "Oh, I've got five missed calls from Eileen"

"I've got two from Gramps" Laura added. "Weird, he never calls me. Doesn't even know how to use a phone"

"He wants to know where you are, Henry" James furrowed his brows. "He told me to give you a call…"

"Why?" Henry asked.

"Eileen came over to visit you, then…" James then read the rest of the message silently. "Didn't you tell her you were going out with me? Something about using me as an excuse?"

"Uh, no, I said I was going to help you with some paperwork" Henry then looked at his lap. "She must have thought I was staying at home"

"You're in it now, Henry" Laura commented jokingly.

"What's exactly wrong?" Henry began to panic.

"All he said was that Eileen came over, and something happened" James slid his phone into his jean pocket. "Wanna go?"

"Please" Henry shot up and then looked over to Cheryl. "I'm sorry"

"It's fine. Go. You've helped me a lot" Cheryl grinned then turned to James. "Thank you"

"No, thank you" James gave her a rare smile then looked over to Laura. "You let us know when you find more people. We could do this again sometime"

"Hell yes" Laura hopped up. "I'll give you my mobile number, Cheryl"

"Oh, okay" With a rushed scribble on Cheryl's notepad Laura hugged her goodbye and joined Henry in the hallway. "I hope everything is okay"

"Me too" James replied. "I uh, sorry I wasn't the nicest guy when we met. It's just I try not to think about it. I did, a pretty bad thing and—"

"Don't worry" Cheryl held up her hand. "Please. I get it"

"Okay then" James nodded as he joined the two figures.

†

_It's okay. I'll find him, I'll find him. I promise, you don't have to worry. I'll find Josh, and then, oh wait…I've forgotten something…_

"Alex, Alex, you okay?" He heard a deep voice in his head, like it was coming from the bottom of a well. His eyes stung with tears, his throat was raw and all he could see was the uninviting darkness that pulled him closer. He felt the waves of water crush his chest so that he could hardly breathe. _I'm going to die. I'm going to die. _All he could feel was the dirty water filling lungs. "Alex, c'mon, wake up"

"What happened? Who is he? You know him?" A voice echoed making him flinch in fear. "Murph, what happened to your face?"

"You need some ice on that" Another voice joined in. _Where am I? Please, help me. _

"He just collapsed" Alex wanted to be sick. He needed to be sick. _Where am I? What's that sound? _"I thought he fell. But he just passed out"

"How long has he been like this?" He couldn't open his eyes. Or was he blind? Why couldn't he see? _Oh God, what's that? Fog? Oh no. Josh. Wait, its okay. Don't be scared. _

"Not long, you guys showed up pretty much straight afterwards" He felt like he was outside in the cold weather. Everything now was turning into a blur of red and black. _No. No. It's happening again. The siren. No! Fuck! Josh, where are- _

"We need to phone the ambulance. You look like you need one too" He felt something on his leg. It was tearing his flesh off, ripping, biting, leaving nothing but his bone; he felt the blood land onto his face and roll down his cheeks. He began to cough and scream in horror. _NO! GET OFF ME! OH GOD, I DON'T WANT TO DIE! I DON'T WANT TO DIE!_

"Okay, you do that" He felt millions of hands grabbing onto him, pulling at his hair, his hands, his torso. They rubbed Alex's cheekbones until they finally got to his eyes, and slowly, began to claw their nails into them. Pull them out until there was nothing left but black holes. Then they pulled his teeth. _Kill me. I was meant to die anyway. _

"Travis, I need to tell you that—" Then there was nothing. Complete silence. Alex opened his eyes, scared to what he might come face-to-face with, but instead, he was greeted by his brother. He looked alive. He was alive. He had color in his cheeks, his hair was clean and fresh, and his clothes were dry. _Josh. Josh. Where am I?_

"_There is no happy land here…" _Josh replied in a strange voice. It was childlike. Sweet. Innocent. _"I can't find it…Hey, Alex. What happened to your eyes?"_ He then lifted his camera and took a picture of him. _Click. _

"Wheeler" The light from the room burned into Alex's skull. His eyes were wide, manic even, and everything seemed to be bold and shiny around him. "What are you doing here…?"

"He's awake?" A large man came into view, his shadow covering Alex. He wore a black cap and a wool-down vest. He gazed at Alex before shaking his head in disbelief. "Get up, soldier"


	11. Chapter 11: Don't Forget To Smile

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 11

Don't Forget To Smile

"Pops, you missed the turn off" Laura commented as she raised her head from her phone. "And Gramps isn't answering"

"Oh, shit" James hissed under his breath. One of the things James hated the most about driving, was driving in the dark. He tired not to think about it, but he knew that his eyesight was getting worse as the years went on. Even now he had to strain to see down the dimly lit road. He quickly turned off his headlights as another vehicle approached, and then switched them back on again as it passed. Narrowing his eyes James saw a road sign half-covered in waving tree branches, it showed a simple diagram of a route to Ashfield, making his nerves to relax more knowing they only had a few more miles till they got to the town. "We're almost there" He peeked over to Henry who was sleepily resting his head on the window. "Just not as soon as I originally planned"

"Pops, speed up" Laura softly kicked James's seat making the older man grip the steering wheel even more. "You're acting like an old man going at this speed. Put some gas on—"

"Hey, I'm not a reckless driver, just an incompetent one" James replied glancing at Laura through the rear-view mirror. "What are you doing?"

"I'm on Google" Laura replied not lifting her head.

"Google? Doing what?" James flicked on his indicator and turned right towards the South Estate.

"Silent Hill. The Toluca Lake area was once known as 'The Place of Silenced Spirits' by the local tribes of Native Americans" Laura read out dramatically. "Although it is known as scenic resort area, it is a cursed place where the town's former inhabitants were once driven away, brutal executions were once carried out, and a mysterious plague was one prevalent—"

"Okay, Laura" James held up his hand. "I get the idea. Are you on Wikipedia or something?"

"No, just some website I found" Laura yawned.

Shaking his head James looked over to the younger man sat next to him before coughing to break the silence. "I don't think it'll be anything serious. Henry? You okay?"

"Yeah. Uh, sorry" The brunette grunted then rubbed his eyes. He covered his face with his palms until he finally let the fall to his lap in a slow motion. "I'm just so tired all of a sudden"

"No kidding" Laura sighed. "I've not met Eileen, have I?"

"No" James answered.

"She's a friend who went to Silent Hill with me" Henry explained turning his head so he could see Laura's pumps. "The woman I mentioned earlier…"

"Oh, you mean the one who used to live next door to you?" Laura raised her eyebrows. "I got ya"

"Yeah, well I don't think its anything serious" James carried on. "I mean, not as in, she got hurt or anything"

"I hope not" Henry mumbled. A yawn then escaped his lips. With a small grunt Henry rubbed his hair softly then tightly closed his eyes, listening to the low humming of the car engine to calm himself. It was silent for a few more seconds until he weakly looked up, trying not to show the pain he was in. He felt that something was wrong. He wasn't sure what, but ever since he left Cheryl's home the feeling had grew inside him. "My head…"

"Headache?" James asked as he quickly looked at him, noticing how pale he was and how his eyes seemed to be almost closed. He looked ill.

"Yeah…" Henry rubbed his head more harshly. It was like someone was pressing on his skull from the inside whilst clawing the back of his eyes and making his brain pulse loudly in his ears.

"Here" Laura passed Henry a silver painkiller packet from her handbag. "Can you take them without water?"

"Yeah" Henry smiled trying to hide his grimaced face. "Thanks"

"No problem" Laura sang. "She was nice"

"Hm?" James took a quick look at the rear-view mirror in confusion.

"Cheryl. She was nice" Laura continued with a content smile. "And pretty"

"Oh, I didn't notice" James muttered.

"Oh, please, Pops" Laura sat up and playfully pulled James's hair. He didn't pull away, but allowed his daughter to tug on his dark blonde hair in a teasing manner. "You're getting grey, Pops. Y'know what causes that? Stress"

"Yeah, and you really help with that, Laura" James answered.

†

"It's not serous" The paramedic woman gave Murphy a sympathetic look. She had kindness behind her big hazel eyes as she began to press the icepack gently on his cheek. "Just keep this on for about fifteen minuets and the swelling should go down. You're not feeling dizzy are you?"

"No" Murphy replied shaking his head softly whilst he awkwardly replaced the paramedics hand that held the icepack firmly on his cheekbone with his own.

"Okay" She glanced over to Travis who was leaning against the kitchen counter, watching Alex who was sat on the sofa with his head in his hands. "You can take Ibuprofen if it starts to hurt"

"Alright, thanks" Murphy nodded, not maintaining the eye contact with the sweet young woman.

"Okay then" She chirped and then walked over to Alex who was under instructions to keep his head between his knees. Once the woman stepped out of the kitchen Travis moved closer to Murphy as he took off his cap and wiped his forehead.

"Huh, what a fucking day" Travis sighed. He noticed how the younger man seemed to flinch once he took the icepack from his face. "You okay?"

"No, not really" Murphy grumbled.

"Hey, Trip" Douglas walked through the wide open front door giving Murphy a sideways glance. He had noticed from the moment he had arrived with Travis and James that the man was extremely quiet and edgy, and had done his absolute best to keep away from them all. With all the commotion he had simply retreated to the kitchen where he simply rested against the counter and glared at the unconscious Alex with murderous brown eyes, which led Douglas to believe, that Alex was the one who had punched him. And in return, he had knocked him out. But, in the small amount of time, he believed that the young man did actually just pass out.

He took his hands from his coat pocket then checked his wristwatch with a calm expression. "It's pretty late. We could do this some other time"

"Do what?" Murphy asked suspiciously catching the elder man off guard, surprised that he was speaking to him, though in an unsettling tone.

"Murph, this is Douglas Cartland" Travis gestured towards the detective.

"Hey" Douglas held out his hand. But Murphy didn't take it, instead just nodded his head.

"Murphy" After the cold introduction he repeated himself whilst giving Travis a dark look. "Do what?

"Uh, look, Douglas" Travis lowered his voice noticing another paramedic come through the door and walk over to the sofa. "This kid" He nodded his head over to Alex. "He's the guy Cheryl's been looking for"

"What?" Douglas gasped. "_Him_?"

"What about him?" Murphy frowned placing the icepack back over his reddening cheek.

"He's been to you-know-where as well" Travis saw the hostile expression of Murphy's face change to complete shock. Then, return to anger as his brows met in the middle.

"I need a smoke" Douglas announced taking a packet of cigarettes out of his jacket pocket before returning to the apartment door in a slow, almost dawdling pace. "Coming?"

"I only smoke when I'm happy" Travis replied holding up his hands.

"Heh, heh" Douglas chuckled at the fact. "Alright"

"Are you taking any medication?" The paramedic asked in comforting tone.

"Uh…" Alex hung his head. He replied in a low voice, not wanting the rest of the room to hear him clearly. "…Antidepressants"

"Right, well, it's a very common thing for people to faint due to this sort of medication" She smiled. "It makes people sleepy and can cause dizziness. I don't think you need to go to hospital, but if this does happen again, I would advise you to talk to your doctor about your current medication"

"Thank you" Wheeler replied patting Alex's shoulder.

"No problem" She stood up. "I would advise you to get some rest, drink plenty and take it easy for the rest of the night"

"He will do" Wheeler ruffled Alex's hair. "I'll make sure of that"

"Alright then, goodnight" Within moments the two paramedics were outside with Travis asking questions about the broken door and the injury Murphy had sustained. The apartment had become eerie and dark causing Alex to rest his eyes in exhaustion.

"What are you doing here?" Wheeler whispered not wanting to catch Murphy's attention as he was leaning against the door frame watching Travis talk from a distance.

"You do recognize _him _don't you?" Alex opened one of his eyes slightly before closing it again.

"Of course" Wheeler cracked his knuckles then held his hands tightly together. "He, um, he lives with Travis. You remember Travis, right? He knows you"

"Travis" Alex repeated the name that left a hazy memory in his head, of him sat in a cold truck, driving down the faintly familiar road towards a fog infested town he wished he would have just forgotten about. But it was the only place he had left to go. "I saw him again"

"What?" Wheeler took a quick glance over to Murphy before Alex answered him.

"Josh. I saw Josh" Alex opened his eyes and looked straight ahead.

"Alex, we've been through this" With a sigh Wheeler lowered his voice. "You didn't see Josh"

"No, I mean in a dream" Alex corrected him.

"Alex…" All Wheeler could do was bite his tongue, he had to be delicate with this situation.

"I know he's dead, Wheeler" It almost felt like a lie when the words left Alex's mouth. He still remembered returning back to Shepherds Glenn, to the house he grew up in, to collect his remaining belongings from his bedroom. It seemed almost unreal, like a dream, once he and Elle had arrived back from Silent Hill there was no sign of mutilated skinless dogs or figures that spewed noxious black gas, but the fog still remained.

Elle waited outside, shaken and disorientated, unable to think straight as her Mother, her own Mother, had murdered one of her children. Her sister. She was angry at her, furious, but she couldn't help but push that anger onto Alex as he had done something that she wasn't sure she could forgive him for. Who would she rather be alive, her Mother or Alex? Was her Mother going to kill her as well? How could she? Her own child, her own flesh and blood, from the moment her Mother had given birth to her, did she know that one day she might have to kill her own daughter? Was that what it was like with Nora? Knowing that no matter what Nora achieved or did, it would all eventually turn to dust. And so, Elle stayed outside, needing to be alone.

It was instantly that Alex noticed the wet patches on the carpet leading up to the higher floors, they beckoned him to follow, and with heavy and harsh breaths he did. If it led to his death, maybe it would be better than for him to live with what he did. And so he walked slowly up the staircase, calm and prepared for what might come. The water dripped down the wooden steps carrying the musky smell of the forest and lake. It was then, that he noticed the footprints. Small, child sized footprints that made his heart ache and his body become numb.

He let a heavy breath out, and then another one as he walked around the corner to his bedroom, the footprints conveniently going the same way. As he entered the silent room, he didn't lift his head from the floor, not wanting to see what awaited him. The water puddles and footprints had now disappeared, leaving him no choice but to look for the person who had left them. He came to the bunk bed, and lifting his head up he gasped in disbelief.

"Smile!" Josh said lifting the camera over his face. With a simple click Alex's vision was filled with white, until it soon faded away to show the picture sliding out of the camera. The photograph of his gaping face was the last thing he saw before everything went black as he hit the ground.

"Right, right…" Wheeler nodded before realizing Murphy was now looking towards them. "Alex, this isn't the place"

"Sorry" Alex apologized. He placed his hands flat on the sofa, pausing as if to gather his strength then lifted himself for the cushioned seat. With a slow turn he saw Travis appear in the doorway with a relieved look spreading across his face. He said something to Murphy in a low voice, and in return received a nod.

"You okay, Alex?" Travis asked as he walked over to the younger man. With a nod a sudden rush of embarrassment and awkwardness struck him.

"Where's Cartland?" Wheeler asked raising an eyebrow.

"Smoking" Travis replied then looked over to Murphy.

"You should get a shower or something" Travis said. "It's late. You have work tomorrow, don't you?"

"Yeah" Murphy finally replied then walked down the corridor to the bathroom, then locked the door behind him.

"Don't mind him" Travis chuckled shaking his head. "He's like that most of the time, you soon get used to it"

"Yeah, he's Mr. Brightside ain't he?" Wheeler remarked. "Still, it doesn't mean you get to punch him in the face"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry" Alex looked over to Travis who had sat on the coach. "I panicked. I, I guess he told you everything"

"Yeah, he did" Travis nodded.

"He…" Alex paused. "He mentioned something. About your apartment"

"Yeah. There's something wrong with it" Travis looked over to the sink. "Alex, we need to talk"


	12. Chapter 12: A Kind Of Love

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 12

A Kind Of Love

"Hello?" Cheryl tucked her legs up to her chest as she turned the volume down on the television. She pulled the lose strands of thread from her baggy sweatpants as there was a pause on the other side of the phone. She heard someone breathing, raising suspicion that maybe they hadn't heard her clearly. "Hello?"

"Hey, Cheryl. It's me" The calm voice caused Cheryl to jolt upright in shock. Her heart fluttered with the realisation that no words could leave her gaping mouth. The woman on the opposite end of the phone coughed. "You there? Everything alright?"

"Aunt Cybil?" Cheryl said in excitement. "Oh man, how are you?"

"I'm fine, I'm fine" Cybil assured. "I thought I'd phone to check up on you"

"Oh jeez, I haven't—it's been so long" Cheryl sank back into the sofa cushions.

"It has. I'm sorry, Hon. I've just been busy with work and all" There was a sigh. "Well, no. It's no excuse. I just need to know you're okay—"

"I'm fine" Cheryl curled a piece of hair around her finger. "Can't complain"

"Good. I'm glad" Cybil took a deep breath. It wasn't unusual for the older woman to phone up unexpected, in fact, Cheryl enjoyed her rare calls. Since she was a child, the only woman that was in her life was Cybil. She helped her with a lot of things, gave her good advice, bought her gifts and would take her out. She loved her. She was the only family, apart from Douglas, she really had left.

"So, how are things in Virginia?" Cheryl asked.

"Not bad. Nothing really interesting has happened" Cybil sighed. "Has Douglas been taking care of you?"

"Of course" Cheryl grinned at the question.

"Good, because if he hasn't I'll have to hut him down" Cybil said coolly.

"Ha ha!" Cheryl laughed. "I'm not a little girl. I _can _take care of myself"

"I know. It's my job to ask" Cybil said. "I remember your Dad always calling me up to ask if you're okay. Y'know, whenever we went out"

"He was such a worrier" Cheryl agreed. "It's his birthday next week"

"Really? How old would he be?" Cybil paused. "Sixty?"

"Sixty" Cheryl bit her lip. "I'm going to go visit him. Uh, I'll buy him some Lilies. From me and you"

"That'll be nice…" Cybil mused for a moment. It was always obvious to Cheryl, even when she was just old enough to understand the world around her a bit more, that Cybil loved her Father. Not in a friendship way, but in a deeper way that made her innocent mind curious. She had even seen them together, when her Father thought she was sleeping in bed, through the crack in her bedroom door she saw the way Cybil looked. The way she smiled at him, talked to him, but her Dad was oblivious to it all.

She still remembered when she was sixteen years old, she had come home from school smelling of cigarette smoke, praying that her Dad wouldn't notice. She heard them talking in the living room, in soft low voices that made Cheryl suspicious. She tried her best to stay quiet as she tiptoed towards the room, straining to hear the words they were saying. It was then that she saw Cybil leaned forward and kiss Harry's lips, a tender sign of love that was interrupted by him gently holding her chin and pushing her mouth away. 'I'm sorry…' was all he said. Then, Cheryl left them both alone. Nothing like that ever happened again.

At his funeral Cheryl couldn't see any sorrow or pain in Cybil's eyes when they were both holding each other in the graveyard, watching as her Dad was lowered into the ground. She was a strong woman, and Cheryl admired her for that. But she didn't know what happened behind closed doors, and she knew that Cybil was grieving in her own way. For the next eight years Cybil had looked after her, taking her Fathers place until she decided to move to Virginia. In some ways she did want to move with her as well, but she just couldn't. She didn't want to leave Douglas, they had grown so close over the years, and he had always been there for her.

"He'd be proud of you" Cybil said.

"Heh, yeah?" With a bashful smile Cheryl bowed her head.

"Of course" Cybil raised her voice. "Even if he was a bit of a stiff"

"Ha ha!" Cheryl snorted with laughter. "How about you come over to mine? I have an extra room. We could have a weekend together"

"That sounds like a plan. I'd like to know what you've been up to" Cybil stated. "If you've been behaving yourself"

"Well…" Cheryl licked her teeth. "I suppose I could fill you in"

"Why? What's happened?" Cheryl could hear the playfulness in Cybil's voice, but she could tell she seriously wanted to know what had happened in her absence.

"Nothing much" Cheryl smirked.

†

"Eileen…?" The young woman was sitting on the battered sofa in Frank's office. Her olive eyes were so big and glittered in the low light. With a sigh of relief Henry noticed how calm she looked, but certain eeriness surrounded her friendly face that caused him to frown. "Are you okay…?"

"I'm fine" She smiled shyly but there was the underlying look of fear in her eyes. A look Henry knew all too well. He walked towards her, and then sat on the opposite end of the coach. He stayed silent as he looked at her pretty face that hid so much emotion that he secretly wished she would just cry, or scream, do something so that he had a reason to hold her. He could always tell when Eileen was hiding something.

"What happened?" It was almost a whisper as he didn't want to raise his voice.

"Why do you still live here?" Was all she could say whilst her lip trembled. The question caught Henry off guard and took him a while to answer.

"What?" Henry tilted his head as Eileen tucked her fringe behind her ear. She then turned away from him. "Eileen, what happened? Please"

"I…I saw something…" Eileen whispered. "In your apartment room…"

"You saw something?" Henry blinked. "What did you see?"

"I don't know" Eileen shook her head. "Frank went to take a look, there wasn't anything there. I think, I think I'm going crazy…"

"Eileen…" Henry broke his shyness and leaned into her gently, wrapping his arm around her back. She was so warm. In return she rested her head on his shoulder, and took a deep breath, feeling much safer with him being with her. The exact feeling she had almost ten years ago, when she would patiently wait for him to return from the Real World. She would drive herself mad with the thought he might never come back. But he always did. He was so caring, and he always put other people in front of himself, people he didn't know. Had never met. He always tried to help them.

"Aren't you scared?" She asked him suddenly. "Aren't you still scared of him?"

"I'm, I'm not scared of him…" Henry said slowly, reflecting on his feelings he had for the man Eileen was talking about. "I…I feel sorry for him…"

"Hm…" Eileen closed her eyes as she listened to his breathing.

"Henry" The brunette turned towards the door to see Frank leaning against the frame. "James has gone. He just wanted me to let you know that he'll phone you tomorrow"

"Oh, right…" Henry nodded. "Thanks, Frank"

"I, uh, I better go" Eileen wiped her eyes and pulled away from Henry, the warmth she felt disappearing.

"Are you sure?" Frank asked. "You can stay, if you want—"

"I'd rather not, Frank" Eileen gave him a sorry look, not wanting to offend him, but not wanting to be kind enough to be pushed into staying the night. "I need go home. Be in my own bed"

"I see" Frank gave her a dry smile then turned away. "I'll walk you out"

"Thanks" Eileen turned to Henry who was silently listening with a calm expression upon his face. He never let his feelings show. Ever. "Night, Henry"

"Goodnight" Henry looked up at her through his lashes before hanging his head. He watched her boots walk away until they disappeared though the door, leaving him with his thoughts. _What could she have seen? Maybe she just imagined it? Or…did she actually see something? Or, someone…?_

He heaved himself to his feet and walked out of the office towards the stairs that led to his apartment. He sometimes did think he was crazy when he asked himself why he stayed in the haunting halls of these apartments that held so many unwanted memories for him. He often thought to himself that he stayed here as a reminder, to remind him of what had happened, of the victims who had their lives snatched away from them. He couldn't save them. He was always too late to help.

How he held beautiful Cynthia in his arms as she exhaled her last breath, blood trickling from her rose lips. Helplessly he watched Jasper scream in agony as the fire ate away at his flesh leaving nothing but ash behind. Shaking as he found Andrew, surrounded by the bloodstained walls, his lungs filled with dirty water. And Richard, violently shaking as the electric flowed through his entire body causing his eyes to roll to the back of his head. All of them, Henry couldn't help. He was always too late, and that was the main thing that stayed on his conscious.

He unlocked his front door and walked into his apartment. Same old. He shut the door behind him calmly before reading the note left for him on the kitchen counter.

_Henry,_

_Windows won't open. I'll fix them tomorrow._

_Frank. _

He screwed the paper up and threw it in the bin, noting to himself he never complained to Frank about the windows. He took his shoes off and threw them on the door mat. He then curiously walked to the opposite side of the room noticing the handprint on the glass. He then tried to pull one of the windows open, the wood cracked but it didn't budge. He tried again. '_Receiver…'_

"Who's there?!" Henry spun around, his eyes wide with terror as backed up against the wall. He stayed still. "Hello…?"

He quickly headed for his bedroom in a panic. He opened the wooden door and went straight to his closet. Inside were his clothes, a few shoes, and underneath his picture portfolios there was a cardboard box. Inside the box were pure white candles that seemed to shine like a glow stick, but Henry just put it down to the wax that they were made from. He took one out the box and examined it. He then returned back to kitchen to look for some matches.

†

The night air was cold, icy droplets had begun to fall from the indigo sky making a peaceful pattering sound against the window. Cars passed in a blur, along with people who scurried quickly to look for shelter or others that simply laughed loudly as they gripped their umbrellas tightly. Standing in the doorway of the apartment building Alex blew out the gray smoke then took another drag of his cigarette, taking his time to let everything sink in. He felt somehow at a loss, unsure of what he should do.

The proposal to go and talk to a complete stranger about his experience in Silent Hill came as shock. No one ever talked about that place. At least not to him. At first he thought it was a good idea, to get everything off his chest, to allow the things that had been eating him for so many years to be finally released. But then, he didn't want to feel the pain he had endured in that town again. It still hurt, even now. He took another drag of his cigarette whilst he watched the rain begin to hammer down, creating pretty splashes once the fat drops hit the concrete.

"Got a light?" With a lazy turn to the right Alex saw a man walking sluggishly towards him. He remembered that this guy was the one who phoned up Wheeler's apartment, Douglas Cartland.

"Here" He dug into his pocket to retrieve a silver lighter, that he flicked open for a second to make sure it was working.

"Fancy" Douglas growled as he lit the cigarette that was perched between his lips. He eyed the lighter with interest, noting that initials were craved into the silver. _A.S._

"It was my Dads" With simple nod Douglas passed it back to the brunette. With dull green eyes the older man eyed Alex, finding it hard to believe that the young man had spent years of his life locked into a mental house. He looked normal. The information Wheeler had discussed with him about Alex had made him feel sick and angry all at once. He thought of his own son, and shook his head. "How did you find us?"

"Hm?" Surprised at the sudden question Douglas nodded understandably, of course he would want to know. "I did some research, on your hometown. Interesting stuff" Douglas took a drag. "September 1853. The founder's of the town came searching for a new home to practice their faith and ensure prosperity to their four families. But they had to agree to a pact, so they would be spared from the wrath of their God"

"That doesn't tell me how you found us" Alex gave the older man a grim look.

"I looked at the Shepherd's Glenn files. Birth records, police files, death certificates. Even missing people's files" Douglas for a moment watched the rain fall in a calm stare. "I've always liked the rain. How it can wash everything away…"

"And Wheeler's number?" Alex asked, determined for the conversation to not change subject.

"I looked, and nothing added up. People disappearing mysteriously, no bodies found, nothing. I took a look at the Shepherd's Glenn Police Department. Got into the system after a few failed attempts, I found some sort of log. Written by the Deputy at the time, which of course was Wheeler. At the time I thought nothing of it, all it had in it was conspiracy theories" Douglas cleared his throat. "But, eventually, a few months ago I had to look at the local police records. And, by chance, I happened to find Mr. Wheeler's name again printed in black and white. After that, everything was child's play"

"Why did you have to look at the records?" Alex asked in a skeptical manner.

"Hm, something about a missing persons case in Silent Hill" Douglas blew out smoke. "I needed to look it over again"

"Right…" Alex dropped his cigarette bud and stood on it, even though the rain had already distinguished the light. "You've been there then?"

"Yeah, I have" Douglas noticed the softening change in Alex's voice as he asked the question.

"When?" The younger man asked shyly, making Douglas confused from the sudden personality change.

"Eleven years ago" He reflected back on the memory of his time in the grey town. "Such a long time, but you can never quite forget something like that"

"Yeah, I guess" Alex nodded in agreement, and then looked out onto the now empty streets. "I think I've read about you somewhere"

"Yeah?" The older man raised his white eyebrows. "I exposed the Order after all that business. Wanted to show the people what a messed up world we live in. The newspapers were happy to publish the story I had to tell, but did it help? Not at all"

"I'm sorry" Alex hung his head.

"Heh, heh" Douglas smiled then shook his head. "You've got nothing to be sorry about. I knew they'd somehow crawl their way out of the press"

"I guess you want to know more about Shepherd's Glenn" The statement made Douglas ponder, until he finally took the last drag on his cigarette.

"What I've learned in this life is that, the most beautiful people can do such ugly things. If you want to talk about it, then I'm happy for you to do that. If you don't want to talk about it, I'll still be happy for you to do that"

"I see" Alex felt his chest tighten. "It's just…"

"It's not easy" Douglas said. "Nothing is. But once you get over that very first step, I promise, things will get easier"

"If you say so" Alex smiled.

"I promise, son" Douglas flicked his cigarette into the rain.


	13. Chapter 13: We All Fall Down

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 13

We All Fall Down

"_Bright, in that happy land, beams every eye.__  
__Kept by a Father's hand, love cannot die."_

Today was a bad day. She wrapped herself in the bed sheets and began to cry to the emptiness that filled the house. All she felt was sickness and resentment. She dug her nails into the bedcovers and clawed them like some animal trapped in a cage, wishing to escape from the pain that she was in. It took another long hour until she finally rose from the bed, hazel eyes worn and sore, her hair damp from sweat and her throat burned as if she had been screaming all night. Trapped in some dreaming state she blinked, not quite awake but neither asleep, the air seemed to wriggle unpleasantly as if she was standing the in middle of the desert. The walls did the same, only accompanied by flesh like maggots falling from the cracks and dropping onto the floor, curling their little bodies up into a tight ball. They reminded her of something. But she couldn't quite remember.

Unfazed she lifted herself from the bed that creaked under her weight. She walked in discomfort, flinching and hissing as her bare feet touched the carpet. Looking at her arms she noticed how pale they looked, a sickly pale, a mixture of yellow and grey that made her feel dizzy, so she put them back down and continued her way to the bathroom. Heat ate away at her skin, stinging and eventually causing her to cry even more as it grew and grew.

Her bathroom tiles were cold, but it didn't take away the blistering sensation in her feet. She limped towards the large mirror that hung above the sink that held her toothbrush and make-up bag. She knocked them all over, in an angry frustration that made a whimper escape her lips. They clattered against the floor. With shaken breaths she lifted her head, and looked at herself in the mirror. A burnt woman stared back at her. Her flesh the colour of black and blood dripped from her ears and into the sink. In a daze she gently touched her cheeks that reduced to ash under her fingertips. No longer did she have curly blonde hair, but cindered patches that covered her entire scalp. She wanted to be sick as she shook at the sight of herself. She was no longer scared. But angry. _"What is keeping that child alive?"_

"Lisa…" With a simply blink the world around her returned to its normal state. It felt like a dream, a nightmare that had infested itself into her world. Her house. Her bedroom. She took a deep breath, wiped her watering eyes then leaned against the sink. "What the fuck…" Cheryl said breathlessly. "What was that…?"

She stumbled but caught the sink with her right hand. "What was that? What the hell was that? That's, that's, never …"

She felt something. A presence. She couldn't see, smell or taste it, but she felt it. Wrapping its hands around her throat and suffocating her slowly. She turned around swiftly feeling something behind, her fists ready to fight but all she did was helplessly look down the empty hallway. She then spun round again feeling something on the nape of her neck. Her reflection looked back at her. How she despised mirrors.

"I'm not paranoid" She announced in a weary tone. Her actions betrayed her as they told the truth of how she really was. In return her reflection didn't respond, but followed her every move, like a reflection should. "Should I kill myself…? Dad wouldn't want that. If he thought it would rid this world of that town, he would have done it years ago…"

"It so hot" Cheryl said after a long pause of silence. "And here I am talking to myself in the mirror" She huffed at her own words and shook her head in disagreement. "Except it's not me. It's you"

Narrowing her eyes she heard something behind her, it sounded like a tree being pulled from the ground, the roots being ripped apart from the soil.

"Something bad is going too happened…" Cheryl didn't turn around but continued to look into the mirror. She bent over slightly as she began to cough. Inhaling deeply she felt something inside her mouth before it then quickly fell back down her throat as soon as it realized Cheryl knew it was there. "Something has come…and it will take everyone away…"

Her voice didn't sound like hers. It was much deeper and smooth, more of a robotic sound that was made against her will. She felt like a puppet. In alarm she tried to move her limbs, but she couldn't, all she did was stand like a statue. Something was inside of her.

"It has come. And it will take them all away. It has come. And it will spread throughout this world. It…has come…" Saliva ran down her as Cheryl tired to fight her lips from moving. "It has come. And will kill those who believe it. It has come—"

With all her strength Cheryl threw herself against the sink, opened her mouth and forced herself to throw up. Spluttering she shook with fear as something began to climb up her throat, scratching her tender skin and causing her eyes to water. She choked, moaned, until finally the black creature fell into the skin on its back. It wriggled it's hundred of legs in a untimely motion as it squirmed, trying to turn away from the Cheryl's horrified gaze. She spat out bile before taking the glass cup from underneath the sink and trapping the unholy creature. Had it crawled into her mouth whilst she was sleeping? Or is this still a nightmare, and she was still sleeping in her warm bed? She hadn't even realised her nose had began to bleed.

Today was a bad day.

†

The previous night had been a restless one for Henry, his mind wouldn't allow for him to sleep. He would lay in bed, his chest tense and his eyes wide as he listened to the noises the building made. Insomnia wasn't new to him. Unable to sleep for nights on end, the images of those creatures still lurking in the back of his mind along with the things he saw. He took pills. But even then they couldn't solve everything. He lit a candle every hour, feeling the more relaxed every time he did. But when the small flicker of light would go out his fear would once again reunite with him.

He was thankful to see the daylight again when he woke up to the sound of Ashfield's busy streets, though he was almost falling off his bed in a heavy sweat. It was at that moment that he realised he couldn't live the rest of his life in fear. He knew, looking through newspapers for 'To Rent' advertisements, he needed to get out of Room 302. He needed to leave everything behind before he drove himself insane. He lit a candle, though it was bright outside he felt safer when a candle was burning away, leaving a bittersweet smell behind that clung to Henry's clothes.

He flicked through the newspapers in urgency, not wanting to be in the room any longer then he had to. He had it all planned out, pay Frank his rent, collect his things, go to a motel and stay there until he found a new place. He was hopeful, and that was better than nothing. His concentration slipped away as he turned his head towards rattling windows. As he walked towards them they became more erratic with every step he made.

He took the lit candle from his coffee table and held it in front of him, as if to test if the rattling would stop. It did. He suddenly felt cold, his fingertips became numb and his hair stood on the back of his neck. The candle went out. "You're dead"

"Heh…" He hadn't expected a response. But when he heard that dark chuckle, he froze in absolute disbelieve and terror. His mouth became dry as he mouthed silent words that came out as empty air. "Yes, I am. And I live, right, here" He flinched as felt cold fingers touch the back of his head. He imagined that the person behind him was making a gun shape with their hand. The wall showed no shadows expect his and the window revealed no one else's reflection but his. He turned around expecting nobody to be there, only this time, there was. The two men were both so close that their chests were nearly touching.

"They're coming" Walter said calmly with the signature smug grin on his face. Henry could hardly breathe; hardly move as he watched the other man tilt his head to the side in a sadistic manner. No response came from Henry's mouth, only deep erratic breaths as he backed up against the window, making the roller blind to crease against his head. The taller man watched him calmly, with a slight confused expression upon his face. The mere sound of his voice still had some authority over the shaking man, which blessed Walter with some delight. After all, his feelings towards Henry had turned sour.

"N…n-no…" Henry's voice became a small incomprehensible mumble. "No…you're not real…y-you're not real…you're not real…" The brunette closed his eyes.

"You're not real" Walter repeated, in a patronising voice, simply repeating Henry's scared tone for his own amusement that caused his smile to widen.

"How…how..." He opened his eyes, greeted again with shaggy blonde hair that rested on the man's broad shoulders. His legs felt numb but he managed to keep himself balanced by holding the book shelf that stood beside him. "H-how…what…what are you…who's coming…?"

"The Order" Walter said casually, in a non-threatening manner, his piercing green eyes watching Henry like a hawk.

"W-what…?" Henry felt inferior due to his lack of knowledge of what the blonde was talking about. Walter smiled mischievously, as if reading the brunettes thoughts. "What…what are you talking about?"

"The parasite" Walter said the words slowly, like he was explaining something to a child. "The disease. It's getting bigger every second. Until, eventually, it will kill those who dare to think of it"

"Why are you here…? Why…?" Henry asked, unable to make anything that came out of the murderer's mouth to make sense to him. All he really cared about was why he was standing in front of him. Even in daylight Walter had an aura about him that filled the room with apprehension. Not knowing what he might do. He may have a calm demeanour, but Henry knew that would never last. "I…I killed you…I saw you die…you're dead…"

"Henry, Henry…" Walter sighed, and looked at Henry with fake thoughtful eyes. "You can't kill a memory. It will always be there"

A memory. He was a memory? Henry found it difficult to believe anything that came out of his mouth, for all he knew, everything Walter was saying was soaked in lies. This had to be a dream. Nothing made sense. "A parasite, what do you mean?"

"You know what I mean" Walter looked at the man with a fascinated gaze. "You're talking to yourself"

"What…?" Henry's heart was in his throat. "Please, please go away. I can't do this. Not again"

"It eats and eats and eats until Paradise is created" Walter sounded like he reciting his lines from a play. He watched silently as Henry's ambers eyes blink as if in slow motion, trying to process what the blonde had just said. He noticed that his eyes glanced down to the floor, where the unlit candle had fallen. Walter smiled. "Those candles won't work"

"How do you know?" Henry asked. The candles were his only protection. They comforted him. Knowing that they had certain power that could expel the darkness and haunting dreams if they ever returned. And here he was, being told that they won't work. It caused him to question his only defence he had left.

"Mother told me" Walter whispered.

"Your Mother…" Henry felt his eye twitch irritatingly. "The room…told you…"

"Mother told me" Walter repeated in the same quiet voice that caused Henry to shiver.

"Mother…" Henry looked straight into the murderer's eyes and held his breath. "They lied to you Walter. Your Mother isn't here. She never has been. She…"

He stopped speaking when he saw that Walter's expression didn't change. He stayed calm, and didn't even hint that he was angry or sad. Did Walter know that his Mother wouldn't come back even if he did the ritual? Was that why he didn't seem offended? As time went on, did his Mother become more and more of an obsession? His willpower to do anything to see her, a desire so strong that it took over his life, as well as his mind. And the pain that ate him from the inside until there was nothing left, but a childhood dream of being with her.

"Mother told me something else too" Walter smirked. "That if Henry Townshend leaves this room the parasite will follow him. And you will spread it. Make it grow" Walter leaned forward. "Don't go out"

"Please…Please…" Henry's legs gave way, and he collapsed onto the floor, landing on his knees with a hard thump that shook his bones. "I…I can't do it. Not again. Please. I can't…"

"Don't go out" Walter said again, lifting his forefinger.

"Why are you telling me this?" Henry swallowed.

"The parasite will spread" Walter said as if lecturing a class, smiling, but it never showed in his merciless eyes.

"Why do you care?" Henry gritted his teeth. "Why do you…why?"

"Mother told me to be nice" Walter looked away with the look of annoyance and disgust. "Mother told me to tell Henry Townshend, to not go out"

"Are you going to kill me…?" Henry asked half-heartedly, lowering his head.

"No" Walter spoke with huskiness in his voice. "But _it_ will, now that it's embedded itself into this world. If you don't believe it, it won't harm you. But, if you let it get inside your head…It will feed from you…"

"The parasite" Henry said. There was no reply. He looked up, but Walter was no longer there.

†

"Dad, are you sure?" Laura raised her eyebrows. "I can stay. I can go shopping some other time"

"Laura" James moved her long blonde hair out of her face, and tucked it behind her ear. "I don't want you to worry about this. Just, go and have some fun"

"Are you sure?" Laura gripped her handbag as she saw James smile at her tenderly. She had noticed a change in James since they came back from Cheryl's house yesterday, and she wasn't sure how to take it. She worried about him. He hid all his emotions and kept them to himself, which made Laura more determined to break down his walls. She just wanted to be helpful, to understand what he was feeling so that she could help. "Alright. I'll see you later"

"Okay" James kissed her forehead and bought her close to his chest. "Be good"

"I will" Laura sighed, then pulled away from him. With one last glance back she opened the front door and left.

As Laura waited for the bus she couldn't help but feel pushed out, yes, she acted positive and kept a smile on her face. But she did it for James. She tried to keep him busy, keep him occupied so his mind was taken off the subject of Silent Hill. The thought of her going back to University and leaving him alone was unbearable to think about, not after everything that's happened. It annoyed her that he could share his experience with a complete stranger, and not turn to her first. In some respects, she was jealous. Jealous of the people who knew how he felt. How she sat silently in Cheryl's house and listened to the three people around her talk, unable to imagine the things they were describing in great depth. How could a town do that to somebody? How desperately she wanted to understand.

Her bus pulled into the station and stopped in front of her, the air breaks hissing before the doors folded open. She stood and stared as people climbed on board, an anxious feeling in the pit of her stomach as an idea in her head grew. Her feet didn't want to move, convincing her that the idea would help. Maybe it was stupid, but she didn't care, she wasn't the type to have second thoughts about something. The bus driver gave her an irritated look for making him wait, and in return, she simply pulled her nose up at him challengingly and didn't move. The bus pulled away leaving the smoky smell of diesel behind.

Unzipping her handbag, she took her phone from the inside pocket, and sent a short text to her friends stating she couldn't go to the Shopping Centre. She then afterwards turned it off. Looking around Laura saw the Help Centre in the middle of the station with flyers, maps and timetables piled neatly on top of the counter.

"Excuse me" Laura smiled at the receptionist. "I was wondering do any of these buses go to Silent Hill?"


	14. Chapter 14: Long Drive Home

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 14

Long Drive Home

The open road was all Travis needed to feel content and relaxed. The Folk radio station playing through the speakers, the fresh smell of oak coming in through the open window and being away from the large cities. He would pick up the occasional hitchhiker, listen to their stories to why they were on the road, the popular ones was that they were either homeless, ran away, their car had broken down or just needed a lift to a location that was too far on foot. Of course he was wary of whom he picked up, but he never judged a book by its cover.

He did have a certain trait that made strangers open up and tell him about theirs lives, their worries, their problems, and they took comfort in that he listened to them. He was a good listener and gave good advice to whomever stepped foot into his truck. He always tried to help the people who seemed low, or had troubles, making it his responsibility to cheer that person up and to make sure they left his cab with a clearer mind.

They would then thank him for the ride and go on their way.

He enjoyed his job. He enjoyed the time alone with his thoughts; his cab was a place to get away from the outside world for a few hours. And now, he most defiantly needed to be alone. The night before had been so chaotic, but soon turned into a calm atmosphere allowing the events that had occurred to be explained and discussed. The conclusion, which Travis agreed greatly with, was for a meeting to take place. He wasn't sure when, where or how, but himself, Douglas and Wheeler had agreed it was the best thing to do.

Something wasn't right, and if it was to be ignored and nothing was to be done, it would gradually get worse. He knew it would. He thought of Cheryl, her familiar hazel eyes, how they made memories flood back to him in one big wave. He shook his head.

Another twenty minuets into his journey Travis noticed a small white blur ahead of him, it walked along the side of the muddy road that headed into the oak woods that went on for miles and miles. He took his foot off the gas pedal, only slightly, just slow enough so he wouldn't make his tyres splash water onto the figure. The closer he got the more clearer his vision was. He saw long blonde hair, a beige handbag, a white coat. It was a woman. Her arm was outstretched out onto the road, her thumb pointing upwards causing Travis to slow even more until he came to complete stop a few yards ahead of her. He waited.

The cab door opened and in climbed the young woman, her cheeks flushed and blue eyes wide. That alone told Travis she didn't regularly hitch-hike. Once seated, she awkwardly pulled the heavy door shut with a grunt, and then tucked her fringe out of her face in a quick motion. There was silence, until she shyly decided to face the truck driver.

"Thanks for stopping" Her voice wasn't timid, but quite confident and clear, which took Travis by surprise. He noticed that her eyes were fierce, and that she was giving him a slight scowl, which didn't bother him. He thought it added character.

"No problem" He answered with a nod. Pushing down the handbrake Travis set off down the bumpy and rock infested road, listening as his wheels crunched against the pebbles and leafs. His curiosity got the better of him. "So, what's a young girl like you trying to catch a ride for?"

"What's a man like you gotta do with my business?" Travis couldn't help but chuckle at her cold attitude.

He didn't take offence, instead nodded his head in agreement. "You're right. Where are you heading?"

"South" She replied.

"I need a little more than that, sweetheart" Travis glanced over to the young woman.

"Brahms. I'll get off near Brahms" Folding her arms the blonde nodded her head slowly.

"Brahms" Travis repeated. "Okay. Well, we'll be out of North Ashfield in about ten minuets. Then, it'll take about three hours to get to Brahms" He raised an eyebrow. "Get comfy"

"Three hours?" The woman raised her voice in disbelief.

"Uh-huh" Travis nodded. "You think that's long, then I've got another two hours to get to New Brunswick"

"No wonder truckers are overweight" She scoffed. "They sit for hours on end"

"Heh" Travis smiled as he glanced at his speedometer. "I suppose so"

"I'm not saying you're overweight. Actually, you look more like a lumberjack" The blonde then tilted her head to the side in a criticising manner. "You wear too much tartan"

"I'll keep that in mind next time I go clothes shopping" Travis said, a joking tone in his voice.

"You should" She sighed then sat back in her seat, noting how the driver kept his eyes completely on the road in a concentrating trance. She felt safe. To her he seemed quite nice, though he looked a little rough due to his unshaven facial hair and the dirty cap he wore, but she was happy that he stopped. Even happier that he wasn't an old pervert, but, she couldn't count her eggs yet. "Name's Laura"

"Travis" He replied giving her a comforting smile then turning away to watch the road.

"How old are you?" Laura asked suddenly, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

"What?" Travis raised his eyebrows, giving the blonde a confused look. "Why you want to know that?"

"Making conversation" She replied shrugging her shoulders and slapping her hands on her thighs.

"I'm fifty-eight" He replied after a pause. He hadn't really been asked about himself before. Not in his own cab anyway, most people really didn't want to know or never took interest in him.

"Married?" Laura leaned forward.

"No" Travis gave her a sideways glance. "Not anymore"

"Kids?" She smiled.

"I have a son. He lives in Portland" Travis replied.

"Portland? What's his name?" Laura leaned back into her seat and looked out the window. They were now in the middle of the woodland. She could smell the wet moss and the musky smell of decaying wood from the open window.

"His names Brandon" Travis then sighed before turning his head. "You ask a lot of questions"

"I'm a curious person" She grinned back at him. "Might as well talk, considering we've got some time together"

"I guess" He looked away. "So, this place you're heading to. It's not Brahms"

"How you know?" Laura pouted.

"You told me to drop you off near Brahms. Not at Brahms" Travis glance out of his left side mirror. "Why you wanna go there? Visiting family?"

"Nothing like that" Laura shook her head as she began to fasten her coat.

"Cold?" Before she had chance to answer Travis had already begun to shut his window.

"I've been there before. When I was little. I went, to see a friend of mine…" Laura said quietly, rubbing her hands together. "My Dad, he doesn't want me to go back there though"

"Oh" Travis frowned. "Why you think that is?"

"He's a scared coward" Laura finally said after a long pause, her words bitter. She stared out the window. Taking in a deep breath she remembered the resentment she once had towards James. Well, she still felt that resentment. Even now, as a grown adult, Laura had never truly got over what James had done to her sweet Mary. He killed her. He _murdered _her. "He doesn't like remembering things, so, he pretends they didn't happen. Buries his head in the sand. He doesn't talk about what happened there. Not with me"

"That place bad memories for him?" Travis asked.

"Yeah. A lot of bad memories" The blonde nodded her head. They say time can heal all wounds, but the deep ones that can leave scars, they'll always be there. When walking through the graveyard Laura remembered grabbing hold of James's warm hand, she didn't know exactly why she did it. She saw the look he had in his eyes. It was sadness. The same look Mary had when she told that her husband couldn't make it to the hospital to see her. Lies of course, even Mary saw that, and it made Laura angry. But at that moment, Laura realised, that he wasn't a bad man. She knew bad men. And James, he wasn't one of them. Yes, he committed a selfish act, maybe it was out of love or maybe it was out of malice. She didn't really want to know the answer. It was a mistake. And she knew James was paying for it.

He could have ended it all, but he decided not to. Confused Laura stood holding onto his hand, watching James as he stared onto Toluca Lake with a dark look. She recalled that she began to shake, and with a quiet voice, she uttered a single word. _"Stay". _

"I see" Travis scratched his chin. "So, why have you decided to go?"

"I don't know" Laura sighed. "To understand him more, I just, want to know why he doesn't feel like he can trust me enough to tell me about what happened there"

"Hmm" Travis thought deeply. Family issues wasn't a new thing to him, many people he picked up had problems in that particular department. Some ran away after arguments within the family, some simply left after a horrible upbringing, or some, that made Travis sick, ran away because certain members were too friendly with them. He still remembered the uncomfortable teenager he picked up many years ago; her sad brown eyes said it all. She didn't talk much, didn't like being too close to him, and just said she was looking for her Mother, who she hadn't seen in years.

"This place I'm going to, it's really pretty. I went when I was eight, and it was really sunny and beautiful that day" Laura smiled. "That friend I mentioned earlier, we had the same nurse at Saint Jerome's Hospital. That's how I met her. Anyway, she showed me some pictures of when she went there"

"Well, I hope the weather picks up" Travis smiled.

"Me too…" Laura nodded in agreement. The next few hours was filled with small talk, one subject led to another, and another, until they reached a small rest stop diner in the middle of the woods. Filthy trucks and motorbikes were parked outside, in which Travis took his place among them and waited for Laura to come back from the ladies room, before they set off again. With a jokingly snide remark from Laura claiming Travis didn't have any male genitalia due to his amazing bladder strength, the rest of journey was a quiet one. In which Laura fell asleep, relaxed by the low humming of the engine and the dull discussion on the radio. Travis smiled, and placed a wool quilt over her.

Within another half an hour they would be in Brahms, a nice little town filled with cafés, family homes and enclosed by a huge oak wood, very popular in the hunting season. The weather, nothing but rain and mist that made Travis on edge, and frankly, more determined to get to Brahms. He gripped his steering wheel. He didn't feel scared, or worried, more curious of what was next to come. For almost thirty-five years he had been a trucker, having to pass or go through that town every now and again. And each time he did he didn't feel threatened; he knew that the town had shown him what _he_ needed to see and that was that. There were no side dishes or peepshows into that town, all he saw now, was just an ordinary tourist town that had gone out of business and didn't get as much people visiting. That was the normal label Silent Hill got.

Though, he did keep up to date with the Cult that still infested that town. He heard rumours, read newspapers articles, and he knew, to this very day, The Order was still lurking in the shadows. He wasn't big on religion, but his Mother and Father on the other hand, they were the ones that made him go to Sunday school. He never saw the point in it all. He still remembered his Mother, Helen Grady, reading from the bible as she turned the gas oven on and held him close to her chest. _'My little Devil child…' _she whispered to him when he began to cough, then he started to panic. _"Momma, I can't breathe. I can't breathe. Mommy, its hurts, I can't breath. I'm sleepy. Please, Momma, I can't breathe. Momma, Momma, Mom-"_

"Hm…" There was a soft grunt followed by a long yawn. "Where…Where are we…?"

"Hey" The trucker looked over to the blonde, his face slightly flushed. "You alright?"

"Mm hm" Laura nodded, with her coat sleeve she rubbed a cycle into the steamed up glass so she could look out into the grey world. Rain. More forest. And, in the distance, a lake.

"We're almost at Brahms. Just a few more miles" Travis tapped his speedometer with his forefinger.

"Right, right…" Laura huffed.

"You sure you're alright?" Travis asked again.

"I'm good. I'm good. Just…" Laura stopped talking, instead replaced her words with deep breaths. Something didn't feel right. In fact, something felt wrong. "What's that…?"

"I don't know" Travis said. As they approached a turn in the road there was a scarecrow like form hung upon a large tree, it swung gently in the wind and wore a deep blue raincoat. The figure was crucified onto two planks creating a cross shape.

"What the actual fuck—?" Laura giggled.

"Lock your door" Travis demanded changing gears and travelling even faster down the road.

"What? Why? It's just something to scare crows—" The blonde chuckled nervously.

"What exactly is it suppose to be protecting?" Travis asked harshly. "I don't see any corn fields"

"You're scaring me" Laura finally said, seeing the bleakness in the drivers brown eyes.

"I'm sorry" Travis sighed. "I'm sorry"

"It's fine. It's just, Travis, do you know a place called—" Laura screamed as a loud bang came from the core of the truck, causing both her and Travis to jolt forwards. Within seconds Laura gasped as she saw black figures appear in the middle of the road, their faces hidden underneath their hoods, their movements swift and ghost like. With frightening scrapes the truck became alive as rust appeared from every corner, growing over the cushioned seats and steering wheel like ivy, making everything it touched wither and bend. The metal flaked completely off then disappeared into the air as everything began to decay. "Oh my God! OH MY GOD! What's happening!? What's—Travis! TRAVIS-! NO-!"

†

She woke up to a pulsing pain in her head, cold air in her lungs and the tickling sensation of something running down her face. Opening her eyes she saw nothing but fog. Thick fog. There was a slight taste of metal in her mouth, which made her grimace and spit out the blood as she pushed herself from the gravel. Breathing heavily she frantically looked around, nothing but haunting trees, an empty road and Travis's truck sitting on the side of it. Travis. Travis. "TRAVIS!"

She gritted her teeth, and began to cry as she noticed the blood that had stained her jeans and coat. But it wasn't hers. "TRAVIS!" Like a woman possessed she pulled the coat off and threw to the side. She shivered uncontrollably, mumbling to herself as she ran towards the truck. "Please, God, please, please…"

Cautiously opening the drivers door Laura hoped, prayed, that Travis would still be inside. He wasn't. Nothing but his cap and a huge blood stain remained. Tears fell down the young woman's cheeks as she collapsed to the floor, holding the cap in a tight yearning grip. She cried loudly, shaking with fright and despair. "Travis…Travis…Oh God…"

Everything inside her mind became a blur, all she remembered of Travis was his large strong hands pushing her out of harms way, covering her as the black figures stabbed something into his back and then dragged him away from her. He protected her. A complete stranger. For another few moments Laura just stared at the truckers cap before placing it upon her head and getting inside the truck, then locking the doors.

She grabbed her bag, and dug out her mobile. Waiting for it to turn on Laura turned the key that dangled from the ignition, though she had not passed her driving test she was determined to drive to the closet police station. The truck didn't respond. "Fuck! C'mon!"

Her phone lit up. Shakily she dialed her Dad's number into it, making typing mistakes that frustrated her but she continued to stay calm. The phone rang.

"We're sorry. The number you have dialed—"

"Fuck, Dad! Please, please, answer…" There was beep. "Dad, Dad, please help me. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I've made a big mistake. Please, something's happened. I—oh shit—I'm near Brahms. I caught a ride with a trucker and something's happened to him. I don't know if he's dead or hurt or…Shit. I need your help. I'm going to phone the police, and then, I don't know…"

She bit her lip. "I'm sorry"

Pressing the hang up button she dialed another number into her phone. "911, what is your emergency?"

"Yes, yes, I need the police. I'm on a road near a town called Brahms. There's been an accident—" Static exploded through the speakers with the muffled sound of a woman in the background. "Hello! Can you here me?!" Nothing but white noise. "Shit! Fuck. Don't do this to me…"

Looking through the window she felt the blood drain from her face, she saw a man standing alone in the bleak whiteness that surrounded the vehicle. He didn't raise his head from his dirty black boots that were covered in leaves. His shaggy blonde hair didn't move along with the trees or with the wind, but rested on his broad shoulders. With slow steps, almost like he was dawdling, he walked towards the truck.

His deep blue raincoat fluttering behind him.


	15. Chapter 15: Digging Up The Past

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 15

Digging Up The Past

He didn't want to believe his Father was dead, not to begin with, he just hoped it was a really long nightmare that he couldn't wake up from. He must have fallen asleep in the arcade; the games did tend to give him a headache after a while, so he must have dozed off while he was taking a break. It couldn't possibly be real. He could still hear the creaking of the tight rope that was wrapped around his Daddy's neck. Once his Mother had left them, his Father became his entire world. The only person he could turn to for love and affection. But now, he came to the conclusion that it was his fault his Daddy wasn't waking up. It was all his fault.

He was always a quiet boy, well-behaved, polite and was never a burden or caused harm to anyone. He was awkward around girls, enjoyed ice cream; he was a typical young boy. Though things began to change when his Mother became ill, how he gradually realised that she wasn't the same woman who would tuck him into bed at night or hold his hand while they walked to church. She had changed. She would lash out at him, scream at him and tell him he was a Devil before collapsing onto the floor and crying. Everything around him began to fall apart. Even his Father barely spoke or looked at him anymore.

Travis was alone.

Then one day, as he was standing outside in the garden, kicking his football against the house wall he heard his Mother's voice. It was calling for him. He frowned, unsure of what to do, as last time she ripped his cheek with her long nails. She called again. Abandoning the ball, Travis walked through the front door and shut it behind him. In the kitchen his Mother stood with a gentle smile upon her face, holding out her arms. Her hair was untied and covered half her face, her nightgown crinkled and her skin pale.

Travis walked towards her, allowing her to wrap her arms around him. He held onto her, so happy she wasn't pushing him away or yelling at him. Was she better? He inhaled her sweet scent and buried his head into her coffee coloured hair that tickled his nose. Was everything going to be better now? Would everything go back to normal? He then smelt something. Something strange. Opening his eyes he noticed that the air looked different. It seemed to wave like flames which caused him to feel extremely dizzy and sick. He couldn't breath. A slim arm passed Travis's back and turned a knob on the oven. "Lord, with your bright and open heart forgive me for showing darkness to the light. Forgive me for this act; forgive my child, as the Devil has subsided upon him—"

"Momma, I can't breathe" He choked. "I can't breathe"

"Please, cleanse him from his sins, and allow my child into your eternal Paradise. Take him from the dark—"

"Mommy, its hurts, I can't breath" Travis tried pushing the woman away, but she was too strong for his small arms. "I'm sleepy" She continued with her prayer.

"Let him see your eternal light. Please, I ask you for forgiveness—"

"Please, Momma, I can't breathe" Travis felt hot teardrops roll down his cheeks. "Momma, Momma, Mom-"

Then everything went dark.

†

The young blonde haired boy sat in the centre of the apartment, kneeling on the floor as he flickered through the colorful picture book he had been given the previous day. He hummed merrily, waiting patiently for his Dad to come back from collecting the rent, which he collected at the beginning of every month. His Father had started encouraging him to sound out words, which meant him trying to pronounce each month. He found June, July and May quite easy, but found the longer words more difficult to get out of his mouth. Most of them came out as garble, causing his Father to chuckle at his attempt and tell him to keep practicing.

The boy wiped his sleepy green eyes before he stood up, holding the book in his small hand as he gradually made his way to the sofa which he climbed onto with great effort. Once sat, he opened the book and traced the line of the picture with his finger. From outside he could hear people's voices and footsteps; the building was always full of people. The young boy found a lot of them scary, and would stand behind his Dad in shyness whenever they went out to greet new accommodators.

He did enjoy living in the huge building. He liked running down the long hallways and receiving tasty treats from a woman who lived in Room 201, she was always seen cooking something and would share with the little boy. Some residents weren't as friendly, a man from Room 302 always glared at the boy for leaving his toys and drawings in the hallway. He now stayed away from the third floor.

The door to his apartment opened, and in walked a tall brunette man. Excited at the sudden return, the blond hopped off the sofa, regained his balance and ran over to his Father, Frank Sunderland.

"Daddy, look, look what I found!" The boy shouted happily, pulling on the tall man's sleeve. "Daddy, look, look!"

"James" The man carefully put his finger to his lips. He held a small bundle of cloth tenderly in his other arm. "Shh, pipe down. Look. Come here"

The little boy tilted his head, puzzled by what his Father was holding; the man walked over to the sofa and sat down with a small grunt before showing James the small newborn that was asleep in his arms. The blonde unsurely walked over to the bundle and stared at the baby wide eyed. Silently the man watched as James gently touched the little patch of blonde hair the baby had on its head. The boy pulled away and frowned in disgust.

"It smells funny" James stated.

"I found him upstairs" His Father smiled as he looked down at the newborn. The young blonde held his hands behind his back.

"I should clean him up" His Father said, then began gently rocking the newborn as it fidgeted. "Then, I think I should phone the hospital"

"Why?" James asked looking over the baby. He was so tiny that he couldn't help but touch its pink hand, which was the size of his index finger.

"He still has his umbilical cord" Frank's smile then turned to sadness. "Poor thing. Left all alone"

"Where's his Mommy?" James looked up.

"I don't know, son" His Father gave him a worried expression. "I don't know"

"What's an, um, um…umbil-a-cord?" James asked.

"Heh, it's something a baby has when it's born" Frank smiled. The blonde tilted his head and stared down at the small newborn. Unconsciously the baby curled its small hand around James's finger, making the blonde grin happily. "It's a mad world, James…"

"I like him" James said.

†

"Okay, Heather, make a wish" Cybil laughed. The blonde closed her eyes, thought hard for a few moments, and then blew out the ten candles. Her birthday was one of her favorite days of the year. It was when her Dad and Aunt Cybil would take her out for the day and they would have so much fun. She didn't have many friends, not that it mattered, she preferred spending time with her family. "Yay! Okay, sweetheart, which piece do you want?"

"An end piece!" Heather clapped.

"Alright, well, while Aunt Cybil's doing that, go wash your hands" Harry smiled, and then ruffled his daughter's short hair.

"Okay, Dad!" Heather grinned before kissing his cheek and running into the bathroom. Pulling a small pink stool from under the sink she stepped on top of it and turned the hot tap on. She looked at herself in the mirror, noticing that brown roots had begun to form at the top of her head. It would be a lie to say she didn't miss her natural hair. She did. The constant bleaching would sometimes leave her hair dry and straw-like. Sighing she rinsed her hands off in the water whilst listening to the low voices in the other room.

"Did you give it to her?" Cybil voice asked.

"Yeah, she's wearing it" Harry replied. Looking down Heather saw the silver pendant her Father had given her. It was beautiful, and quickly became one of her most treasured possessions. Inside it was some kind of scarlet jewel or stone that shimmered in the light.

"Good. I swear last week was too close" Cybil whispered.

"It won't happen again"

"How can you be sure?"

"Look—let's just enjoy today"

She turned the tap off and looked at her reflection; somehow it made her feel comfortable. Without a second thought she took the blue towel from the bath and hung it over the mirror carefully. She didn't like looking at herself because it always felt someone else was looking back. Someone on the other side.

†

Sometimes, when the world became too much for him, he wished that he could blend into the carpet or wall. Become invisible or disappear. When he was a child he would stand and watch the other children play from a distance. Too scared to ask if he could join in, and even worse, too scared of rejection. He was unpopular, timid, awkward, and simply plain.

So he stayed leaning against the wall, by himself, listening but never talking.

Even at social gatherings of family and friends he would just stand and listen to his relatives' gossip and chat about their daily lives. No one ever asked him about his life. How he was doing at school. How he was. How was his day. No one asked. He remained unnoticed. So, like he did at school, he would sit the corner of the room and pretend to not exist. Though, his Mother always tried to get him involved in conversation, and even tried to push him into making friends. But it never worked. And he felt guilty for it, but he couldn't help the way he was. "Such a quiet soul" His Grandmother would croon.

Henry Townsend was a wallflower.

His only pleasure was his camera his father had bought him for his birthday. He loved it. He took pictures of everything, the garden, the sky, the flowers, the next door neighbours' dogs, the park, the houses, and the local shops and church. Everywhere he went, the camera went as well. And, every month, his father would pay to have the photos developed so Henry could stick them all up on his wall. And look at them. Admire them. It was the only thing he ever felt good about.

But lately, he had noticed something strange in the pictures he took. In the background of a few pictures stood a man with long blonde hair, always looking straight at the camera. Of course, the figure was nothing but a blur and was sometimes standing so far away you couldn't even see his face. But Henry always knew it was him. He thought nothing of it, and instead, put the pictures into a box and pushed it under his bed.

†

Behaving bad was one of his favorite pass times, not that anybody cared or tried to stop him. In fact, his parents would wait till he did something wrong then punish him for it. That was the only thing they were there for in Alex's opinion. Alex was the invisible child in the family, never seen, never heard or acknowledged. He spent most of his time away from his home, feeling the intense pressure of not being wanted finally pushed him to spend most of his days outside. His life hadn't always been like that. He was once loved, appreciated and cherished, but that all stopped when his younger brother was born.

Though his parents always treated him cold, his brother, Joshua, was the exact opposite. He looked up to Alex, admired him and despite the age difference tended to follow him wherever he went. At the start, Alex found his tagalong annoying and tried to brush off his little brother. He even made Josh steal some gum from Olson's Hardware Store in hopes he would get into trouble, but the plan backfired, and both sons grounded. But as time went on, Alex found he enjoyed his company. Some company was better than none at all, and Alex spent most of his time alone. He began to show him how to fish, helped him collect insects from the garden for his collection and they both shared a great interest in comic books.

The different treatment they both received from their parents effected them both, Josh felt racked with guilt whenever Alex was scolded or hit for something so little, and Alex felt more resentment towards the rest of the family. The hugs his Mother used to give him, the combat skills his Father taught him, they were nothing but rotting memories. His desire to leave Shepherd's Glenn became even stronger, and he couldn't care less of living up to the family name.

Nothing mattered to him anymore.

"Alex" Josh kicked the elder's mattress from underneath. Sharing a room with his younger brother wasn't something Alex was too happy about either, especially when he invited girls over.

"What you want?" He moaned, his eyes closed, too tired to talk to anyone.

"Do you like me?" The younger boy asked after a long pause. This made Alex frown, but nevertheless he answered.

"A little" Alex answered. "You brat" The answer made Josh giggle, which made Alex happy.

†

"How are you today, Murphy?" The nun asked softly, rubbing her rosary beads between her thumb and forefinger. She was sat upon a wooden chair in front of a blackboard looking kindly at the boy who stood in front of her. "Staying out of trouble?"

"Yes, Sister" The boy nodded, his hands in front and shoulders straight.

"No more of this juvenile delinquency?" She tilted her head to the side in a knowing way.

"Yes, Sister" Again the boy nodded. He wasn't the type of child to lie, especially to a nun. He may have made the wrong choices, and he may have done things he shouldn't, but the child wasn't bad. He respected his elders, was polite and soft-spoken. The choices he made were from a deep rooted cause, that the boy simply wouldn't talk about, not even to the Priest. He was just troubled. The nun smiled.

"Then God bless you" She gracefully stood, and glided over to the boy. "Raise your head child. You are a blessing in the eyes of the Lord. A child of light and not of darkness. A child of God"

"Yes, Sister" Murphy mumbled. "May I go now, Sister?"

"Yes, of course, child" The nun sighed, but her smiled didn't fade. She watched silently as the boy left the classroom, then returned to her seat to plan her future lessons.

Murphy stood outside the classroom door, taking a deep breath he pulled his hair and gritted his teeth. His anger always got the better of him, and that was why he always got into trouble. Labeled as a trouble maker, a bad person, a delinquent; just like his old man. He never wanted to be like the way he was, he just slipped into the place of a criminal. That was his role. He felt that was the only thing he could achieve in his life. Though the Nuns and Priests said otherwise, they said he had a talent for fixing things, repairing them, breaking things apart and then reassembling then back together again. They had even gone to the great extent of putting him on a Vehicle Mechanic course, which, he enjoyed. He liked cars, he liked sport as well, and he actually liked the theatre. 'You can achieve so many things, child!' Sister Alice told him one day.

"Hey, Murph!" Another boy shouted from down the hall, he kicked a ball towards him and shoved his hands in his pocket. "You okay?"

"I'm fine" Murphy replied.

"It's raining outside. The Sister's told us to go play with the infants" The boy groaned. "Like I fucking want to do that"

"I like rain" Murphy yawned. "C'mon, let's go"

†

"Y'know, I heard a very good joke the other day" The middle-aged man rubbed his chin, and then continued to speak. "How many psychologists does it take to change a light bulb?"

Cheryl thought for a few seconds, then pouted and shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know, Doc. How many?"

"Just one, but the light bulb has to want change" The man chuckled.

"That's...not really funny…" Cheryl looked over to the man.

"I know. But it gets the message across" He placed a beige folder onto the table and checked his watch. "We have five more minutes. Anything else you would like to discuss? Anything. Anything at all. We can talk about your favorite film"

"It's the Godfather" Cheryl paused. "The first one, I find Italians sexy"

"I see" The man nodded his head.

"You said that, certain _things_, start at childhood…" Cheryl fidgeted.

"Mental health problems typically emerge in adolescence and continue into adulthood" The doctor nodded. "People with, shall we say, Personality Disorders—"

"What are you trying to say?" Cheryl interrupted. "Huh? Doc?"

"I'm saying that, people with this may find it difficult to make or keep relationships, get on with people at work, get on with friends and family—"

"No, that's where you are wrong, I love my family" Cheryl sat up from the sofa. "I just, I just don't feel like me"

"Well, that's the first step" The man nodded then checked his watch again. "You haven't really told me much to give you a reasonable and exact diagnosis, but that will come in time. We go at this at your own pace. We're in no rush to get to the finish line"

"Yeah" Cheryl nodded her head. "It's just, this morning, I had the weirdest feeling. I felt so mad, and scared, and…"

"It can be very difficult to diagnose personality disorders if other mental health problems are masking the personality disorder" The man then folded his arms. "Sometimes, people with similar symptoms are misdiagnosed as having a personality disorder"

"I see…" The blonde sighed. "So, we haven't really scratched the surface"

"Like I have said; it will all come in time" He smiled.

"Right. Thanks" Cheryl nodded and stood up, picked up her handbag and coat then headed for the door. "Hey, Doc"

"Hm?"

"Do you believe in monsters?" Cheryl asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hm, society's monsters. Yes, I believe in them. Why?" He asked.

"Just asking" She then left, a smile forming on her face.


	16. Chapter 16: Fading Away

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 16

Fading Away

"_Oh, then to glory run; be a crown and kingdom won.__  
__And, bright, above the sun, we reign for aye."_

It was afternoon when the downpour began to hammer on rooftops and cause the gutters to overflow into the streets. A lone umbrella danced along with the raindrops until the wind carried it down an avenue and into the air. The sky was nothing but a formation of grey clouds that blocked the sun, making the day pretty gray and lonesome with the absence of people.

"Hm…" With a groan James opened his eyes, the loud pattering of rain against his window forcing him to wake up. He listened for a while longer as he drifted in and out of consciousness. He had felt so tired lately, more than usual, all he ever wanted to do nowadays was sleep. Even at work he found that his eyes would become heavy every time he filed away papers or wrote records of budget costs, his role as a White-collar worker had began to drain the life out of him. He found the work very tedious and overall, draining. "Mira"

There was a pause as the man waited for the sound of paws scampering against the laminate flooring, and a wet nose to nudge his hand that hung over the sofa. There was no sound. "Mira!"

Again he waited for sound, any sound, but then sighed when he realised that she must have run upstairs again. And with her small, stumpy legs couldn't get back down. Instead, he pushed himself from the comfortableness of the pillows and ran his hands through his damp hair that stuck to his forehead. He yawned, and walked dizzily towards the kitchen.

Opening the fridge James retrieved a carton of Orange juice, and without a glass, took a gulp from the box. Afterwards, he wiped his hands on his grey jumper before picking up his phone that sat on the kitchen counter. He remembered that he was going to phone Henry.

"Laura?" James frowned noticing that he had a voicemail from her. It wasn't unusual; she normally called when she needed a lift or had forgotten something. He held the phone to his ear and listened to the recording. At first, the only sound that he could hear was the low rumble of static, reminding him of the old records his Father used to play to him as a child.

"—Dad, Dad—" With a high-pitched squeal James heard Laura's voice, though what she was saying was being drowned out by white noise. Her sentences were disjoined, but soon made James's blood run cold once he realized what his daughter was saying. "Help me—sorry—mistake—I'm sorry—I'm—I'm—dead—I'm—dead—I'm—dead—I'm—dead—I'm— dead—I'm—dead—I'm—"

A horrid feeling sank into James's stomach, making his hand's sweat and his lips to become suddenly dry. He wanted to say something, but instead continued to listen to Laura's voice. "I'm—dead—I'm—dead—I'm—dead—Silent—I'm—Silent—Hill —dead—Silent—"

The phone cut off with an automated woman stating the call was made at 2:33pm, about half an hour ago. A bitter taste came from the back of James's mouth as he began to panic, his hands dialing Laura's number into his phone before standing and waiting for an answer. Her phone was unavailable. Silent Hill. She said, Silent Hill. "Shit. No, no, no"

There was a sudden knock on the front door, making James freeze and Mira bark from upstairs. He didn't want to answer it. His body refused to move from the kitchen, too cautious and afraid of what was outside, waiting for him in the rain. There was another knock. _Laura?_ He dashed into the living room in a blind panic, falling over himself as he headed towards the door. "Laura? Laura!" He grabbed his keys from fruit bowl and unlocked the door, hoping to see Laura's pretty face, with maybe a slight scowl because he hadn't answered his phone. He imagined her standing in the rain, shopping bags dangling from her arms, her beautiful blonde hair covering her face. His chest tightened. He opened the door, but was greeted by a soaked brunette balancing a backpack on his shoulder. "Henry…?"

"Hey" He nodded as raindrops rolled down his face and got caught in his lashes. His pale Amber eyes were downcast and shadowed, as if he was too afraid or ashamed to look up. "Can I come in?"

†

He didn't know how to react, what to say or what to do, all he did was stare at the newspaper with his hands in tight fists. He had read the article several times, and read the title even more, each time he did the words never sunk in. He read it over and over and over again, it was unreal, unbelievable, yet it had happened. He didn't feel happy, which was strange, he didn't really feeling anything at this moment. All Murphy could do was read.

"_CORUPT RYALL STATE CORRECTIONS OFFICER ON TRIAL"_

"They got him, Frank…" Murphy mumbled to himself, and glanced upwards, as if making a quick prayer. It was all there, in black and white, Officer George Sewell was being trialed for soliciting and accepting bribes in exchange for not reporting illegal activities and also for reprehensible activities including blackmail, drug trafficking and violence against inmates. In honestly, Murphy wanted to shout or scream or—anything, he wanted to feel something. But he felt nothing. His life was still a big mess.

The article failed to mention how Sewell was caught, but it didn't take long for Murphy to figure out who must have discovered what he was _really_ like. Anne Cunningham. It had to be her. Despite Sewell working as a Corrections Officers for years, no one had him figured, besides Frank, who ended up in a wheelchair until the day he died. But Anne, she actually saw what he did, and Murphy knew she wouldn't let him get away with it all. He knew.

"Clever" Murphy said regarding Anne. It was over. Everything. His only wished he knew what Anne had said to the State Police regarding his status, but he simply shrugged it off. Maybe, now going back to Boston was the next best move? He instantly dismissed the idea, as he didn't want to leave the state his son was buried in. "Travis"

Before Murphy took out his mobile he looked over to the rest of the mechanics who were on their breaks. None of them noticed him step outside into the rain. He knew Travis was on a job to New Brunswick's, but it wouldn't hurt to leave a message. The phone rang.

"Travis" Murphy lowered his brows as shallow breaths filled his ears. He opened his mouth to say something, but found his words turned into empty air.

"H-hello?" It was a woman's voice. A young woman's voice. "Hello?"

"Who's this?" Murphy questioned. "I'm sorry, I think I have the wrong number—"

"No, no! Please! Don't hang up!" The woman begged, and then her voice returned to an icy whisper. "Please, you have to help me"

"Who are you?" Murphy asked as he listened to her panicked breaths. There was a pause, and then he heard crying. The soft whimpers echoed down the phone making Murphy more determined to find out what happened. He thought of Carol, and how she would cry all alone in their bed. With a few failed attempts to calm her down, he stood and listened to her cry, hushing her like a child until she finally listened to him. Her sobs turned to small hiccups of sadness. "Okay. It's okay. Now, where's Travis?"

"Travis. Travis. I-I don't know…" She stuttered. "He, he's gone. I don't know where he is. There were people in the road, and, and, they took him. Oh God…"

Murphy frowned; he heard something from the other end of the phone. A scraping sound, like someone dragging their fingernails against wood or metal, it made him flinch. "What's your name?"

"My…my names Laura Sunderland" The voice answered. "Um, um, Travis, he gave me a ride. I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I couldn't, I couldn't do anything! I'm sorry..."

"It's not your fault. I'm a friend of Travis. Where are you, Laura?" Murphy asked. "Laura? Can you hear me?"

"I'm on a road, near a town called Brahms. I can't be any more specific. There are no signs or anything" A shaky sigh escaped her lips. "I'm scared. I'm so scared…"

"Have you phoned the police?" Murphy asked urgently.

"I can't…" Laura cried. "Oh God, oh God…"

"Laura?" There was a sudden bang, and then another, each time it got louder. He heard a gasp. "Laura? Laura, what's that?"

"Oh, no…he's going to kill me…he's going to kill me…" Murphy could see the tears rolling down Laura's face. "Please…I…I'm sorry…I'm sorry…"

"Laura? Laura!" The only response was a prolong beep that told Murphy that she had hung up, or, someone had taken the phone away. He wiped his brow, his mind completely blank and in a state of shock. "Laura…"

†

"Listen. Listen to it" James passed Henry his mobile phone, and started pacing up and down the kitchen. "It's Laura. Jesus Christ. I, I need to phone the police"

"I can't hear anything" Henry gave the older man a worried look before handing him back the phone.

"What? No, no, there was message" James grabbed the phone from the brunettes hand and held it to his ear. He was right. There was no voice, only the crackling sound of static. "Shit. No, no. She left a message. But, but, it was…"

"What did she say?" Henry asked.

"She didn't…" James thought hard for a few seconds, listening to his blood pulse in his head and ears. The haunting familiar sound that carried Laura's voice filled his head with nothingness, until he could no longer take it, and in anger threw the mobile against the wall and watched it shatter into pieces. "Fuck!"

"James" Henry said sternly, quite clearly out of his comfort zone. "Calm down"

"How can I calm down? How the fuck am I suppose to do that?" James growled. "Laura, could be…She could be there, Henry. I heard what that message said"

"We need to phone Cheryl" Henry nodded. "We _need _to phone Cheryl. What can the police do? They've had their fair share of going to Silent Hill to find a missing person, or to solve a murder case. They'll just mark her off, as another person who just vanished into thin air. Put it down as a suicide, brush it under the carpet. James, what the hell can the police do?"

"Find her. Bring her home" James gritted his teeth, knowing that Henry did have a point in some respects. "More than a woman who's apparently a reincarnation of two people"

"You know that it's what we need to do" Henry then lowered his voice. "We'll find Laura. And, we'll bring her home. She'll be fine"

"You don't know that" James hissed, then gave Henry a murderous glare. "I'll go there myself. I don't need her help. Nor yours for that matter"

"James—"

"No, don't. Don't" James held up his hand. "I swear, once I find her, we're moving. Moving far away. I should've done it years ago, but because I expected everything to go back to normal, I decided to stay in this state. Because that place, that town, it gave me something. A reason to live. If Laura wasn't here, then I'd probably be at the bottom of a lake. I was weak. I still am. Laura is all that matters to me now"

There was a silence as Henry let the words sink into his head, and, he could relate to how James was feeling. Someone you need to protect, someone you would gladly give your own life for, it sounded all too familiar to Henry. It reminded him of Eileen, and how he almost lost her. As she stepped into the pool of blood, the iron smelling liquid raising above her thighs, staining her purple dress a deep shade of crimson. She was all that mattered.

"I get it" Henry said, averting his gaze from the blonde. "I know how much you love Laura. You talk about her all the time. But, please, please, I think this is the best thing to do"

"Sorry, Henry" James mumbled.

"Don't be" Henry said. "Like you said, Laura is all that matters now"

†

"So your Dad was in the military?" Douglas asked, and then took a long gulp from the coffee mug that sat in front of him. He and Alex were both sat at the table in Wheeler's apartment, the conversation was smooth and charismatic between the elder and young man, a positive response of how close they had become.

"Yeah, he was a Colonel. Then, when he got discharged, he was the sheriff of Shepherd's Glenn" Alex then slid in hand under his T-shirt collar and pulled out his Father's dog tags that were fastened around his neck. He never took them off. "These were his"

"Hmm" Douglas mused. "And, your lady friend, her Mother was the judge of the town?"

"Uh-huh. She, uh, she died" Alex then dropped the dog tags back inside his shirt. "Her name was Margaret Holloway and, she murdered her daughter, Nora Holloway"

"How did your friend take it?" Douglas asked.

"Elle, she, she took it pretty bad. It was a shock, for us both" Alex the turned away, took a deep breath before he continued to speak. "She went to live with her Dad after everything. And, I stayed with Wheeler for a while, until things started going bad…"

"Bad?" Douglas saw how Alex began to fidget under his gaze.

"I started drinking" Alex shrugged. "I got really ill at one point, my skin, it went yellow. I looked a mess. I ended up in hospital. I remember waking up, and I saw Elle, sitting by my bed. She looked so sad, and, she looked disappointed. So, I promised myself, I wouldn't make her look at me that way again. She was the strong one in all of this"

"Heh, she sounds nice" Douglas smiled, and then raised an eyebrow. "You sure you're just friends?"

"What?" Alex couldn't help but smile with embarrassment. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. I mean, we take care of each other. We all do"

"Okay, okay" Douglas rubbed his chin. "I'm just making sure. When a man loves a woman, she becomes his weakness. Well, is was that way for me for quite some time"

"I can imagine" Alex chuckled.

"Oh" Douglas reached inside his coat pocket as his phone began to ring. An unknown number. "Excuse me, Alex"

With a smile Alex got up from his seat and carried the two empty mugs to the kitchen sink. He ran the hot water, and began cleaning the dishes whilst Douglas took his call.

"Hello?" Douglas answered, in a formal business tone.

"Douglas" A voice said. It sounded like whoever was on the other end was running. The sound of passing cars and people were in the background.

"Who's this?" Douglas asked, recognizing the voice, but unable to put it to a face.

"It's Murphy" He panted.

"Murphy?" Douglas looked over to Alex who had a strained smile on his face once he mentioned the name. Much to the older mans amusement he dragged his voice in a weary tone and answered back. "Ahh, Murphy. Yeah, how's the face?"

"Quit the jokes" His reply was hoarse and breathy. "I need help. Travis has gone missing"

"What?" Douglas almost let a laugh out, but held it back. "Missing?"

"I've phoned up the warehouse his pick up was at" Murphy took a deep breath. "And they said he never signed in"

"Wait, wait. Slow down. He's probably running late" Douglas sighed.

"He isn't. I rang him, and a woman answered" Douglas frowned, not sure how to react to the information that was just given to him. "Apparently some guys jumped them or something. I don't think she's hurt, but I think she's in trouble"

"A woman?" He thought, unable to come up with a reason why a girl would be with Travis in the first place. Well, especially when he was on a job. He didn't see Travis as a man who would pick woman up, never mind what for. "What was she doing with him? Did you get her name?

"I think she just caught a ride with him, he picks up hitchhikers" Murphy replied. "She said her name was Laura, um, shit, Laura Sunderland. That's what she told me"

"Laura" He repeated the name. A sudden cold feeling spread throughout Douglas's very being, it was like a bombshell hitting the ground. He felt weak. Laura Sunderland. Laura Sunderland. That name repeated itself around in his head. There was no doubt in his mind that it was the daughter of James Sunderland, the only question that remained, was, why was she there? Where was her Father? He was sure James and Travis had never met, and most defiantly sure Travis had never met his daughter before, so there was no connection there. Was it coincidence, or a mere meeting of two people that happened to be entangled in that town? That town. Douglas felt his breath cut short.

"She mentioned she was a road near Brahms" Murphy's voice broke through the elder mans thoughts. "I just have a bad feeling. I'm on my way back to flat. I didn't know who else to call"

"Okay, just, stay at the flat" Douglas instructed noticing that Alex was now giving him a worried expression.

"What? No, I'm going to Brahms" Murphy said. "I used to live there. I'm going to try and find them"

"Murphy" Douglas groaned. "Did Laura mention anything else?"

"No, I don't think—" He stopped himself. "Wait, she said, she said that someone was going to kill her"

"What?" Douglas was now standing. "Kill her?"

"That's why I need to get there" Murphy sighed. "I don't think she was alone"

"Murphy, go back to the flat" Douglas said with more authority in his voice. "Wait there. I'll give you a ride"

"Are you sure?" He finally said.

"Positive" Douglas looked over to Alex. "I'll be there as soon as. Keep ringing the warehouse, just in case he shows up"

"Alright" Murphy then added. "If you're not there in half an hour, I'm going by myself"

He then hung up.

†

She silently listened to the radio, making sure she stayed calm and relaxed as she drove back home from her Psychologists appointment. She hadn't been for so long, it felt weird going back to that small white room, to lie on a bed and talk about how she was feeling. Fading away. That's what Cheryl felt; she felt she was fading away, allowing the world to eat her. She floated and smiled around the world, hoping to fit in and feel like herself. But she didn't, her skin wasn't hers, her life wasn't hers.

A single tear ran down her cheek, which she quickly swept away and took a deep breath. Her eyes felt hurt with tears, but she found crying was a sign of weakness, she always told herself that whenever she felt like giving up and curling into a ball. She felt she was wasting away. A fine line was wrapped around her, making sure she couldn't have a normal life, and it all came back to that town, her home, her birthplace. If Cybil was here, she would pull her hair and tell her to get on with it. Be strong.

"James?" Cheryl wiped her eye. A tall man was standing in her driveway, wearing a dark green Field Jacket. She quickly braked, and rolled down her window. "James? What are you doing here?"

"It's Laura" James bent over so he could she Cheryl's face. "Something's happened. I think she's at Silent Hill"

"Silent…" Cheryl lost her words. She cut the engine, and opened the car door. "Silent Hill? Why would you think that? Is she—"

"She tired to phone me" James interrupted. "And she left me a voicemail. I know she's there. Henry said that, we should come see you. I did phone you"

"I've had my phone switched off" Cheryl wiped her hair out of her face, then she noticed Henry coming out of James's' car from across the street. She waved. "Come inside"

†

"Who's Laura?" Alex asked, as both he and Douglas got into his car.

"She's the daughter of a man who went to Silent Hill. Years and years ago" Douglas checked his wristwatch and then started the car. "I've got a bad feeling"

"You said she's near Brahms" Alex swallowed. "Is she near the South or the North side?"

"Uh, Murphy didn't say" Douglas then pulled away from Wheeler's apartment building. "I very much doubt Laura could be that specific. Why?"

"The South side is closest to Shepherd's Glenn and South Vale Silent Hill" Alex said, pictureing the roads in his mind. He had once been to South Vale, with his family, and remembered the exact directions. "Truckers drive that way all the time, it's like a route they take. A road that goes through all the towns, including going past Silent Hill"

"Hmm" Douglas thought for a moment. "You know how to get there?"

"Of course" Alex nodded. "I lived there for nineteen years"

"Right" Douglas licked his dry lips. "What's that?"

"My phone" Alex sighed, but then saw the caller ID.

"Is it Wheeler?" The elder asked.

"He's not allowed his phone on at work" He held the phone to his ear. "It's Elle"

"Your lady friend?" Douglas smiled.

"Yeah" The brunette pressed the answer button. "Elle. Hey, what's up?"

"Alex, Alex" Her voice sounded small. "It's my Dad"

"Your Dad?" Alex scratched his head.

"He's in hospital" She said. "He's had a heart attack"

"What?" Alex felt his mouth drop open. "No way. Is he alright? Are you alright?"

"He's fine. But, but…" She took a deep breath. "Alex. Something has been going on. My Dad, before he went to hospital, he started acting weird. Like, he started praying and packing my stuff up into bags, telling me I had, I had to leave. Telling me, if I didn't it would, get me"

"What will?" Alex tensed up. "Elle"

"The virus, he called it. He gave me a book, with these scriptures inside" He could tell that Elle had the book with her, as she was silent for a few seconds, and then began mumbling the words to herself. "He put a bookmark in one of the pages…"

"And? What does it say?" He asked, before glancing over to the driver. Without a word, he put the phone on load speaker so Douglas could listen.

"It says…" Elle cleared her throat. "For our God to return, our one true Deity, She will cleanse the world of filth and sin; She will cleanse the world, and make anew. She will send down her spirit, that will purge the nonbelievers and blasphemers—"

"What does that mean?" Alex asked, noticing Douglas's confused expression.

"I looked it up, there's something called, The Purging, or it's most commonly known as The Purification" There was page turn. "It's a virus or, as Her followers call it, God's spirit, which is supposed to fall down from heaven, and cleanse the world of sin, to prepare for the arrival of God"

"Okay. What else does it say?"

"Once this has been done, She, our one true Deity, The Holy Mother, will send her Angels and Gods to sacrifice the Seven Devils of The Silent. She will then, be reborn from their blood and bones, and will rise from dust, and be once again alive in this world, and her gift will be received. And, She will…"

"She will what?" Alex asked.

"Create an eternal Paradise" Elle whispered.

"Elle" Alex saw that Douglas had begun to speed up. "I want you pack the rest of your things, and get on a train to Maine"

"But, my Dad—"

"He said you had to leave" Alex didn't like being harsh with Elle, but now, she needed to do what he was telling her. "Elle, I don't even think your Dad had an heart attack. I don't think that at all"

"But…" Elle sniffed.

"Wheeler will be there to pick you up" He looked over the car clock, that glowed 4:46pm.

"What about you?" Elle asked. "Alex, I'm worried, and scared, and I don't know what to…"

"Elle, everything will be okay" Alex reassured, though he himself wasn't sure if that was true or not. "But, you need to trust me"

"Okay" Elle said. "Okay. I trust you"

"Alright" Alex looked outside his window as they drove downtown, passing shops, the bank and grocery stores. "Don't talk to anyone, don't trust anyone, just get on the train"

"I will" She lowered her voice. "I promise"

"Okay. I'm going to phone Wheeler now" Alex sighed. "I…I'll see you later"

"I'll see you soon" Elle said, before calling out his name. "Alex"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful"

"Always am" Alex smiled. She then hung up, leaving Douglas with a grave look on his aging face.

†

The smell, the smell of disinfectant and medicine, something that bought Laura back into the real world. Opening her eyes gently she saw a blurred black figure, somehow she didn't feel threatened but more of confused and curious. As she blinked a few more times her surroundings became more clear and bold, the artificial light, white bed sheets, the humming of the machines and the surgical curtain that was pulled across the left side of the bed she laid in. She was in a hospital. A dirty hospital.

Though, she couldn't move, and soon to her horror, realized she was tied to the bed. Her mouth gagged. Her throat felt sore and swollen. The smell of iron reached her bed along with the freezing air from the foggy outdoors. Looking down Laura realized she was in a hospital gown. "Mm…mm…!"

"Shh" The figure hushed. "Don't worry, Mom. Everything will soon be complete. You will be our Savior, and will be born from the blood and ash of their skin. We'll finally be together"

"Nnn…nn, gh…un mh…!" Tears began to pour down Laura's face, smudging her mascara, and creating black lines down her cheeks. "Tra…v…travees…!"

"Mom?" The figure turned around. Laura froze in fright. The man who stood before her, his skin was grey, his long hair had reseeded to the center of his skull, and his face, the right section of his cheek was missing, reveling his white teeth and tongue. "Mom? You want to see the First Devil? The Tormented? Is that what you want?"

"Nnn…tra…nn…!" Laura tried to kick her legs, but they refused to move even under her command. She knew she had been given pain killers or a tranquilizer of some sort. "Nnn…da…dadd…noo…!"

"The Third Devil? You wish to see him?" The man then kneeled beside her bed, a looked of tranquilly upon his face. "His blood will be given to you, and you will be released from your skin" His hand went to touch her face.

"NN!" Laura began to move even more, thrashing her body about until she was reduced to tears again. "Nnn!"

"Mother, please" The man stood up. "If you want, I will take you to see the First Devil. His blood is kept cold, so he won't spoil. He must stay alive. Until The Purge is complete"

"Taa…veess…" Laura nodded, seeing that it could be possible for her to escape.

"Yes, Mom" He nodded. He turned away from her and came back with a wheelchair that had been sat in the corner of the room. "Please. Don't move. If you do, I'll have to do what Sister Florence told me to do. And clip your wings"

The young woman frowned at the strange threat, but noticed how the dead looking man had then glanced at her naked legs. Clip her wings. She shuddered. As the man began to unbuckle her restraints she took her time to look at him. His eyes were a pale green, so red and full of sadness. His skin, grey and dry, and slightly swollen due to a part of his cheek was missing. The next thing, she was being carried from the bed, and placed into the wheelchair carefully. After that, her arms were tied, and her gagged was never taken from her mouth.

"Silence is a virtue" The man cooed. "Don't worry, Mom"

She was then pushed out of the room, passing various doors that were old and cracked. Gazing at the paint peeling off some sections of the walls and the dust that had formed on the floor and dado rails, the ceiling above creaked. She heard footsteps above her. Looking up at the decaying ceiling the dust was falling from, she heard the steps getting quieter.

"The children" The deep voice said. "They have come to see you, Mother. And then, they shall return to the House in the wood. The House where even I was raised"

She didn't nod, or mumble, but simply sat there as they turned a corner. In front, was a metal door, mist came from the bottom and made Laura's feet instantly cold.

"He's in here" The man smiled, and then unlocked the door. Inside was like a room sized freezer. As she was being pushed inside Laura noticed it was like something trapped in time, old, abandoned, the entire room was covered in a thin layer of snow that added to its eeriness. Some of the bricks she could see were dull and grey and some of the windows were smashed. And, in the corner, was a man. "Devil, you have a visitor"

"TRAVUS!" Laura tired to scream, and began kicking, though her legs felt like jelly. "TRAVUSS!"

"Would you like me to untie you?" The man asked, already unfastening Laura's arms. Once he did, the woman tired to run towards the blood stained man, but collapsed like a child learning how to walk. She crawled towards the trucker. As she did, she removed her gag and spat away the blood that had formed in her mouth.

"TRAVIS!" She shouted, hoping that he would respond. "Travis, it's me! It's Laura!"

Finally, after crawling across the ice floor, she made it to the man. He was sat up straight, though his head hanged and rested on his bloody chest. His bread was the shade of crimson, his eyes closed, and his mouth dribbling blood that landed on his tartan shirt.

"Travis" Laura cried. "Travis. It's me. It's Laura. Can you hear me? Please, wake up. Wake up for me"

Instead the man stayed still, struggling for life, barely alive.

"Travis. Wake up. Please" Laura embraced him. He was so cold. "Remember, you told me about your son, Brandon. You need to open your eyes. Please. Please"

"Mother you shouldn't associate yourself with this Devil" The man said, holding into Laura's shoulder and gently pulling her away.

"GET OFF ME! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Laura screamed. "LET GO!"

"Lau…ra…" Travis gurgled, allowing more blood to escape his lips. "Laura…Laura…"

"Travis!" Laura pulled away from the man and back to Travis again. "That's it. Laura, my names Laura. Say it again"

"Laa…" Travis's eyes closed for a second, and then opened. He looked straight at Laura, his eyes heavy and sore. They had a moment, both Travis and Laura staring at each other, speechless and hurt. "Laur…"

"No, no! C'mon, Travis! Don't fall asleep!" Laura begged, more tears falling from her eyes. She held onto his hand. "Please. Say my name. Travis! Travis—"

"Enough" The man dragged Laura away from the dying trucker. Placing her back into the wheelchair as she screamed and cried and swore. "Please, Mom. I love you. I won't leave you"

"I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER!" Laura screamed as the gag was reunited with her mouth.


	17. Chapter 17: Happy People

There Is A Happy Land

Chapter 17

Happy People

He could feel his heartbeat getting slower with each second, his breath becoming thinner, his sight slowly darkening and falling into oblivion. The monster in front of him twitched and hissed as it pulled the blade from his stomach, he couldn't feel it at first, then he looked down to see his blood spew from the hole in his stomach. He was going to die. The wound felt so hot, and he could still see his torn flesh pulsating with the rest of his body.

The faceless creature moaned and gurgled, as if it was singing a song to celebrate the death of Harry Mason. It had the smell of rancid meat, the last scent the man would ever smell before closing his eyes for the very last time. For a second, the disturbing figure tilted its swelled head to the side, as if studying the dying man, then raised its blade.

"Stop" Said a woman's voice. Instantly the creature gently lowered its weapon, and then swiftly ran to the apartment's balcony. "For a man so committed to live inside the little lie that he created, you, are truly pathetic"

A woman stepped into view, clad in black, but her skin was so fair, like a ghost that slowly floated towards him. She had a calm demeanour, and her expression was hard to find, due to her pale eyebrows that fanned out over her light blue eyes. Looking down at the man her platinum hair slipped out from behind her ear, but she smoothly brushed it away. "Sitting there, waiting patiently for your demise"

The man simply glared, but was unable to hide the burning pain he was experiencing, and let out an agonizing grunt. His chest moved up and down irregularly as Harry found breathing was now a hard labour that was becoming impossible to do.

"From the moment you took her away from me, from us, your ways soon brainwashed her" The woman continued to speak, loathing behind her composed voice. "My dearest Alessa, my sister, my friend, you hid her away from us. Look at you, wasting away in your body"

"…he…hea…" Harry struggled for another breath, but the woman didn't wait for him to complete his sentence, and simply scowled.

"Sacrifices must be made" She said. "They say murder is a sin, and for that, I accept my role. I shall not witness Paradise"

"…God…isn't…" The man heaved, still unable to get the words out of his mouth, making the woman's patience wear thin. "…isn't…here…"

"Fool" The woman whispered, taking a step back from him. "She will birth God, and will open the gates to Paradise. This time, for those who failed, I shall not. Though, I have caused my most dearest a great pain, I deserve no mercy upon my soul, and will gladly walk the path of death and ruin"

"Hh…" Withering in pain Harry held his bleeding stomach; his heart missed a beat, noting that he could feel his muscle and inners. But he didn't care, he was ready for death, he was always ready. The only thing that was on his mind was only thing he loved and cherished in this world, was Heather, his daughter. He was going to leave her. He'd become nothing but a memory, a bittersweet memory that will remain special and untouched. "He…th…e…"

He felt his life slipping away, his body becoming numb and he could see nothing but white light that blinded his vision of the woman. _Heather. Heather. Heather. _He was leaving. He was leaving his little girl. He won't be there for anything now, he won't be able to help or support her. He won't see her graduate, get married, have kids or build a life. He won't be there to be part of it.

Coldness was the next sensation, it filled his body, creating a wave of relief as the pain disappeared. He opened his eyes and heard a voice.

"_Dad, it's me"_

"_Heather? Are you okay?"_

"_Yeah, sorry I didn't call sooner"_

"_It's fine. I know how you get. Tired from all that shopping?"_

"_Yeah, I guess I was. Anyway, I'm coming home now. Oh! I didn't get that thing you asked me too…"_

"_Heh, it doesn't matter. As long as you're okay. Don't worry about it"_

"_Okay"_

"_Alright then, be home soon. Be careful"_

"_Okay, I will"_

"_I love you"_

"_I love you too, Dad…"_

The light faded from his indigo eyes, and his last breath carried him gently away.

†

"Murphy, get in" Douglas called from his window. The russet haired man was standing outside the apartment building, though his appearance was different from what Alex could remember. His bread was gone, his hair cut, he looked like a completely different person altogether. The passenger door opened, and a wet Murphy sat heavily into his seat. Taking down his hood he noticed Alex's fascinated gaze in the rear-view mirror which caused younger man to quickly look away. "One more stop"

"What?" Murphy frowned. "We need to go. Now. We haven't got time"

"It's important" Douglas replied.

"It can't be that important" Alex insisted, taking Murphy's side. For a second Douglas looked surprised, but shook his head knowingly.

"It is" Douglas wasn't going to change his mind, and stubbornly drove the car back into town. "You're only the first pick up"

†

"I'm not going to tell James" Henry stated in a low voice. "He's got enough on his plate. We just need to find Laura, and everything will be fine"

"Okay. Okay. I won't say anything either" Cheryl promised. Everything felt like a bad dream. After Henry explained what had happened to him the previous morning, Cheryl instantly felt a tightening feeling in her gut. What she felt was a sense that something was wrong, that something was going to happen, but Silent Hill wasn't going to give her any clues to what. Everything was a mind game, solve a few puzzles, have a scare then hopefully more of the story is revealed. Now, everyone was faced with the fact that Laura was now in that town, and there was a possibility that she might not even be alive. It then hit her, like a slap in the face, why would someone like Laura be in a place like Silent Hill? "It's a trap"

"What?" Henry watched as the blondes face turned into complete shock.

"They're luring us" Cheryl stood up from the coach, and walked over to the other side of the room. "By using her as bait. They must know Laura is James's daughter!"

"The Order? How could they know that?" Henry asked before looking around the room suspiciously. Both of them were silent for a few seconds, but then Cheryl simply scoffed at the foolish idea that someone could be watching them. "James is a real private guy. If he knew that Laura was in danger or being spied on he would have done something about it"

"But why would they want to lure out James?" Cheryl asked, resting her head in her hand, concentrating on the stone statue that posed on the coffee table. "He's never been involved with The Order has he?"

"I don't think so" Henry rubbed his neck. "Not at all, actually. Is that who you think it is? You think that's how Laura got there?"

"It's not the town" Cheryl stated confidently. "That town, it only draws those who have darkness in their hearts, have a lesson that must learned, a place to go and face their fears. It will always be like that. A place of unexplained powers. Though, a man I met a long time ago said that the things we see in that place, the monsters mainly, are nothing but delusions. That they _look _like monsters to us"

"To us?" Henry murmured. "What did they look like to him?"

"Never asked" Cheryl shrugged. "He said he was joking. Heh, pretty crap joke in my opinion"

"Yeah…" Henry suddenly became quiet.

"Has anything happened to James lately?" Cheryl asked, walking over to the door that led out into the corridor and shutting it slightly, leaving a small crack so she could see if James was coming back down the stairs. "To suggest that someone was following him? Or has he had any unpleasant occurrences like us? Like you said, your friend Eileen, she saw something in your apartment. And now, you're saying that you talked to a dead man this morning. And me, I'm throwing up goddamn bugs!"

"Ew…" Henry grimaced, thankful that it hadn't happened to him. "That's not a nice picture"

"Well, it wasn't" Cheryl folded her arms. "The thing died after a while"

"I don't think…" Henry rubbed his eyes tiredly. "He hasn't told me anything. He doesn't sleep well. He always looks tired. And when he does sleep, he says something about a recurring dream he has. But, I don't know, it might be something"

"I can feel it. Something isn't right" Cheryl looked out into the corridor cautiously. "Walter, he, said something about, a parasite? Was that it?"

"Yeah. It will kill those who dare to think of it" Henry tired to remember what the killer had said to him. "I'm sorry, most of what he said went straight though me. I'll admit I was scared for my life. I thought he had come back to finish the job"

"It will kill those who dare to think of it?" Cheryl frowned. "He normally speaks in riddles does he?"

"Yeah" The brunette nodded. "He said he was a memory"

"A memory?" Cheryl said flatly. "A memory. That doesn't really help"

"I know" Henry agreed.

"Kill those who dare to think it" Cheryl mused, moving away from the door. "If you think of it, the parasite, it will kill you? Henry, have you ever heard the phrase, monsters exist because we believe in them?"

"It doesn't ring a bell" Henry shifted his gaze to Cheryl, noticing how now she was pacing and looked to be in deep thought.

"It's a scientific theory. Y'know that fear is in the mind" Cheryl briefly gestured towards her head, and then leaned against the wall. "I could be just shooting in the dark here, but, maybe…"

Cheryl closed her eyes, listening to the low hum of the fridge from the kitchen, her head began to ache. She refused to believe she was thinking too much into this, she felt that all the events that had happened could possibly be linked together. The illusions, the feelings, the weird visions, the inescapable fact that Laura was in now in that town, scared to death and clueless to what was happening. Her head pulsed painfully, until a small sequence of images filled her head. It only lasted a few seconds, but long enough for Cheryl to see what they were. She saw children playing amongst themselves in the fog, merrily singing a rhyme that sounded familiar to her. A fairground, filled with its bloodstained pink rabbit mascot, the small toys and full body suits were just laid still on the ground. Then finally a silhouette of a woman sat behind a hospital curtain, rocking back and forth. Cheryl's eyes snapped open.

"Cheryl, are you okay?" Henry noticed how the woman was breathing heavily.

"James" Cheryl wiped her forehead awkwardly as the elder man entered the room, his eyes heavy and bleak. There was no doubt he was getting frustrated with just sitting and talking of what to do, James was more of a man of action. "We can take my car"

"What?" Henry looked over to Cheryl, and back to James who was silently nodding his head.

"We're going" Cheryl said fiercely. "Laura is alone in that place. We need to go get her. A trap or not…"

"A trap?" James spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"I think, that, Laura is being used to lure someone out" Cheryl spoke slowly. "Why would she be in that town? She's done no wrongs. Unless, The Order is using her it to bring someone out into the open"

"How…how can…why? Why?" James curled his hand into a tight fist. "The Order? What would they want?"

"What they've always wanted" Cheryl looked away with a look of digest on her face. "To build a Paradise on misery and death. We need to go"

"Yeah" Henry stood up and walked towards James. "Everything will be fine. We'll find her"

"Is that a gun?" James suddenly said in horror, looking over Henry's shoulder and seeing Cheryl take a gun from out of the kitchen drawer.

"It's A gun" Cheryl replied with a look of mischief. "A SIG Pro semi-automatic, actually. I have more, hidden about the house. There's one in the toilet system. You don't think I'm going to that fucking town with no defense? Please"

"You're expecting trouble or something?" James asked gingerly.

"This is just a precaution" Cheryl wiped the neck of the gun with her jumper. "I don't want to use it, unless I have to. It's the last resort"

"Right" James hadn't even thought of what would be waiting for them when they returned back to that town. And for that, he had to give Cheryl some credit. "Here. Take it"

"No" James refused. "I can't"

"Henry?" She offered the gun to the other man who seemed to resent it, but didn't refuse.

"Does it have a safety lock or something?" Henry asked shyly.

"Yeah. Finger off the trigger, safety on, finger on the trigger, safety off" Cheryl replied with a smirk and rolled her eyes.

"I take that as a no" Henry took the gun. It was heavier than expected, or, more than he remembered.

"Don't lock your arms. And always, always treat a firearm as if it is loaded, even if it isn't" Cheryl then added. "Because whoever your pointing it at doesn't know that you've run out of bullets"

"Anything else?" Henry asked amazed how Cheryl knew so much about guns.

"Yeah" Cheryl noticed how weirdly Henry was holding the firearm. "Hold it like you've used it before. And don't shoot unless you know what you're shooting"

"Okay" Henry looked at the gun in his hand. "I'm putting it in my rucksack"

"How come you know so much about this type of thing?" James questioned once Henry left the room.

"My Aunts a cop" She replied with a smile. "She taught me everything she knows. What? You thought because I'm a girl I wouldn't know about or be interested in this stuff?"

"Not at all" James shook his head, before hearing the doorbell ring.

"Excuse me" Cheryl passed him, and walked down the hallway to open the door. The doorbell rang again. "Alright, alright, jeez, I'm coming—"

"Cheryl"

"Douglas? What are you—?" The elder man stepped into the house, and froze once he saw James and Henry. "Douglas. Uh, look, something has happened. We need to go—"

"James" Douglas took off his beige hat from his head, he looked away for a moment, taking in a deep breath. Like a priest at a funeral he had nothing but sympathy in his eyes. "James, it's, it's—"

"Laura" James said in a monotone voice, feeling his heart rate get faster. "I know. How do—?"

"She's in danger" Douglas stated, noting that the three people's expressions dropped. "I mention guy called Travis on the phone to you, didn't I? Yesterday? He picked up Laura whilst on a job. He's gone missing too"

"Laura's in danger?" James repeated and stepped back. Feeling faint he held onto the banister for support, the world around him spinning and becoming hazy. He thought he heard Cheryl say something but it sounded like he was underwater, words were nothing but muffled and broken sentences. "What-? How do you know?"

"James, James, breathe" Cheryl placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay? Try and calm down"

"Murphy got a call" The elder man said. "He, he lives with Travis. She said to him, that…" Douglas hesitated, due to James's current state. He had broken bad news to people before, when he was in the police force, but for some reason, this took the cake. He'd have to say to people he barely knew that their Dad or Mother or Son or Daughter's body had been found, and he'd see them crumble in front of his very eyes. He took a deep breath. "Someone was going to kill her"

"What?" James's eyes widened and he covered his mouth. "No, no, no. This isn't happening. This can't be happening"

"James" Cheryl said sternly. "I know this is difficult, but breathe"

"Who's Murphy?" Henry asked quietly.

"A guy who went to Silent Hill a few months back. Not that long ago really" Douglas turned to the new face. "He's outside with Alex"

"Let me guess" Cheryl remembered the call the retired detective gave her the previous night, right after she said goodnight to Cybil. "That guy who's also been to Silent Hill"

"He _might_ know where Laura is. He said there's a road that truckers go down, uh, like a route. But, I'm willing to trust him on it, considering he's the only one who has a clue of where she might be" Douglas sounded determined. "That's why we need to go. We can't waste time"

"Yeah, yeah" James rushed out the door, feeling if he listened anymore he'd throw up. Slowly, Henry picked up his rucksack, and nodded over to Douglas then followed the blonde out the door.

"I don't believe this" Cheryl whispered to Douglas. "Poor James. And Laura, oh God, what if something happens…?"

"We can't think like that" Douglas sighed. "Uh, I brought the Honda. I've got more than six people in it before. We'll be able to get there, but it'll be dark. He might have to stop at Brahms. Cheryl. I need to tell you something"

"Can't it wait?" Cheryl gave him a helpless look.

"Cheryl" Douglas almost shouted, but refrained himself. "It's about The Order. They're up to something. I know they are"

"I know" Cheryl's expression darkened. "But, we can't do anything right now. James's daughter is there, she's the first priority. Not those fuckers. Look, it's like a running gag for them, I think they're trying to get somebody to Silent Hill by using Laura"

"But, I mean, it's wouldn't surprise me, but, they couldn't possibly want to—"Douglas shook his head. "Maybe going there is a bad idea"

"It's not debatable, we have to go" Cheryl picked up a large duffle bag that sat next to the door. "Looks like their plan actually worked for once, huh? I just hope this time, no one gets hurt"

"Yeah" Douglas agreed.

†

She had been shouting and screaming for what felt like hours, she was no longer restrained to the bed, and was allowed to walk freely around the small room. The windows were covered with planks of wood, the door locked and even the air vent was screwed tightly shut. There was no escape. She was thankful her legs had returned to normal, though she would sometimes feel dizzy and have to sit down until the room stopped spinning. Scared. Confused. Hurt. Sick.

"Dad…" She whispered, recalling the last time she saw him. Hold he held her tightly in his arms and kissed her forehead goodbye. She accepted that saddening fact, which caused her raw eyes to ache, that she may never see him again. She could imagine it all now, her body being found months later, buried in the woods or dropped into a lake.

She sat heavily onto the bed, and listened to the sounds around her. Footsteps, voices, doors being opened and closed, loud bumps that would sometimes scared her half to death. She was alone. And was powerless. For all she knew, Travis was dead. She had even lost his cap.

She came to the decision that she couldn't just sit back and wait to die, but decided on a plan to do something. All the room had was machines, a hospital curtain and shelf that held dusty books. The light bulb above her flickered. Again she stood up, flinching as her feet touched the cold floor she searched the room for the tenth time. She wasn't sure what she was looking for, an escape, an object to use as a defense, anything really, anything useful. The bookshelf was rotten, and the smell reminded Laura of when she and Travis drove through the woodland. With her hand, she pulled on a sharp piece of wood that was sticking out from the side, though she got several splinters in her hand she managed to snap the piece of wood off. It was short, but sharp.

Turning back to the window, she listened to the noises coming from outside. The wind that came through the cracks between the planks that were nailed to the window and the occasional shout she would hear. The door behind her suddenly jiggled as someone unlocked it. Swiftly Laura returned to her bed and hid the wooden spike under her pillow, afterwards she sat upright and waited patiently for whoever was coming in.

The door opened, and in stepped the man with long blonde hair who was holding a tray. With a blank expression Laura noticed that he didn't lock the door after him, which made a jolt of happiness spring up her spine. She watched him carefully as he placed the tray down next her bed, she saw that it held a bowl of water, a flannel and thick book. She gave him a grim glare before turning away, gripping the wood that was under her pillow. _Not yet. Not yet._

"How are you feeling, Mom?" The man asked softly, giving her a smile, though it freaked her out due to the fact his right cheek was missing. She could see his purple gums and his tongue that wriggled because he had nowhere to rest it. "Mom?"

"Stop. Calling. Me. That" Laura gritted her teeth, and felt herself shake. "I'm not your Mother"

The man simply smiled, and ignored her harsh tone, and continued to dip the flannel into the bowl of water.

"Is Travis alright?" Laura swallowed.

"The Devil has been moved" The man squeezed the flannel, allowing the water to drain from the fabric and then folded it in half. A scent caught Laura's noise, a sweet fragrance reminding her of Lilies and lemon grass. "This is water mixed with White Claudia. White Claudia is a flower that blooms near the shores of our lake. Its seeds are used for our religious ceremonies"

"I don't care" Laura replied. "I don't fucking care. Why am I here? No, tell me, what are you going to do with Travis? Tell me!"

"When I was younger, I met a girl who would was destined to birth our God and bring about Paradise" The man smiled as he reflected on the memory. "Her name was Alessa Gillespie. Her Mother, Dahlia Gillespie, was highly respected within our religion, and was convinced that by performing a ritual she would allow God to be impregnated in her daughter's womb"

"What?" Laura shook her head. "That's crazy"

"The ritual was carried out many times, but all were unsuccessful. The girls who were chosen died" The man placed the flannel on the tray. "Finally, Dahlia sacrificed her daughter by immolating her"

Laura's mouth dropped open. "You…you mean, she burned her? She burned her alive?"

"The ritual was a success. Alessa became pregnant with our Deity; she was to become the Mother of God" The man turned to face Laura. "But the First Devil, his interference caused God to not be born. That is why, he is the first sin. The First Devil, a Glutton who must be taught Temperance. That is his role"

"What's your name?" Laura asked, feeling the coldness that radiated off the man. Her hand reached under her pillow as she looked intently at the man's neck. Though she was training to be a veterinary nurse, she did learn information about the human body, and where in the neck the carotid artery was. Her aim wasn't perfect, but she was certain she couldn't miss it. _Wait. Wait. _

"My name was Walter Sullivan" He answered. Laura felt numbness spread throughout her body. "Your role is very simple, it is to receive Gods gift. You shall be one with her, Mom. Your death will serve Her. And—"

Out of pure fear Laura plunged the sharp instrument into his neck, and twisted it to the right. She heard a crack that made her want to be sick, but she forced herself to continue to twist until blood began to spill from his neck. She could hear the sickening sound of his flesh being ripped, the squelching sounds of his insides and the sound of her harsh breaths. _Push. Push. Don't stop. Push. He'll kill you. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look. It's self-defense. Don't look. _

"I'm not your Mother" She hissed. Letting go of the wood that had become one with his throat Laura ran towards the door and stumbled into the darkness. She ran down the corridor, passing wheelchairs and drip holders that stood abandoned in the halls. The only sound she heard was her own heart and footsteps. "Oh…oh God…"

Shadows covered the hallway floors, Laura decided to walk in silence and keep her eyes open. The daunting feeling of being lost and helpless made her pick up her pace. Her objective was simple, to get out of the hospital alive. How she hated hospitals with a passion. They reminded her of Mary, and suffering, pain, death, illness—not a place to become well again. She had bad experiences with hospitals.

She stopped as footsteps echoed down the halls, unsure of what direction they were coming from Laura opened a door and entered a room that was labeled '_Sacrum Positus'. _

Inside of a room, there was a series of small steps that went down into the ground. At first Laura just gazed at them, noticing a flicker of orange light that came from the room below. The footsteps from outside got louder, and now she could hear voices getting closer. Biting the inside of her cheek, she walked down the steps, clutching onto the wooden banister as she did.

Once at the bottom, she turned to the right, and saw that the room resembled something of a small church or shrine, it looked so haunting, but it was strikingly beautiful. The stone walls looked so old and were covered in moss, the vibrant stained glass windows shone brightly, and the statues of angels peered down from ceiling. The air was thick of fragrant smoke, reminding Laura of reed sticks she'd light in her apartment. Underneath her feet was a soft red rug that led all up to the alter where a woman was kneeled. After passing the rows and rows of wooden benches Laura stopped, unsure of what to do.

"You wish to prey with me?" The woman said smoothly. "Laura?"

"Where's Travis?" Laura's loud voice bounced off the stone walls and retuned back to her. "Where is he? What have you done? You haven't…you haven't…killed him…?"

Slowly the young woman stood and turned around, taking down her hood she revealed her long red hair that ran down to her chest in small waves. She looked like a porcelain doll. Her emerald eyes were stunning and big, but had something dark and sinister about them. Her layered robes that covered her entire body—except her head and forearms—had golden stitching into the sleeves and hood, and another white under-robe had a pattern of flowers and unique embroidery.

"Poor Laura" Her colourless lips curved into a smile, and she raised her arms. "My sweet, have you learned nothing? Death must come to those who deny God. Our Deity, she will soon complete The Purification and we will be blessed with her land of happiness and love. Don't you understand, child? You're part of something much bigger. You're life will change our lives, and our children's, and their children's for years to come. Paradise is within our reach"

"You're crazy! All of you! You're all crazy!" Laura shouted, shaking her head. "Where's Travis?!"

"In the beginning, people had nothing. Their bodies ached and their hearts held nothing but hatred" The woman talked with her hands gracefully. "They fought endlessly but death never came. They despaired, stuck in eternal quagmire"

"A man offered a serpent to the sun, and prayed for salvation. A woman offered a reed to the sun, and asked for joy. Feeling pity for the sadness that had overrun the Earth, God was born from those two people" Taking a step forward, as if making a sermon, she held up her hands. "God made time and dived it into day and night. God outlined the road to salvation and gave people joy. And God took endless time away from the people. God created beings to lead people in obedience to her"

The fire headed woman turned to the ghastly statue that stood on the right side of the shrine. "The red God Xuchilbara" She then turned to the left statue that resembled more of a human. "The yellow God Lobsel Vith. Many Gods and Angels. Finally, God set out to create Paradise, Where people would be happy just being there"

"But…" The woman lowered her arms, and continued quietly. "Our Gods strength ran out and She collapsed. All the worlds' people grieved this unfortunate event. Yet, God breathed her last, She returned to the dust promising to come again"

"I'm a bit too old to believe in that rubbish" Laura responded. "Killing people is not right! Who would want to live in a place built on death and suffering? Huh?"

"Killing people is not right?" The woman's smile faded. "Did your Daddy teach you that?"

"How…how…" Laura felt she had been kicked in the stomach. Her question was like venom, and her eyes, they told Laura she knew more. A lot more. How did she know about James? "HOW DARE YOU! Don't talk about my Dad!"

The red head stepped down from the alter and tilted her head. "For a person who is against the act of murder, you still defend your Father who has committed the act. A bit hypocritical, aren't we?"

"Shut up!" Laura tightened her fists. "Shut up! You don't know him!"

"But, he isn't your Father is he?" The woman cooed.

"Shut up. You. Bitch" Laura felt her heart ache.

"No. He's not. But yet you feel some kind of loyalty towards him. I wonder, how did you feel when he told you he murdered Mary?" The colour drained from Laura's face. "What did you want to do? How did you act?"

"Stop it" Laura growled.

"Such a young age to be exposed to that kind of thing" The woman lifted her robe to reveal white feet. "Eight, were you? Yes, of course. Such a happy time in a child's life"

"STOP IT!" Laura screamed, her eyes blind with tears.

The woman stepped towards her, an ominous look in her eyes. "Soon you will see where the true monsters lie. And trust me my child; they're closer than you think. They'll be here soon, and when they are, they shall witness the beginning of the sacrifice of The Seven Devils of the Silent"

A tear dripped down Laura's chin, with her hand she wiped it away and glared at the woman. Though no words came out of her mouth, she was astonished how she knew so much. Things that were so personal to her, yet she displayed them in front for her in that calm and soothing voice. "Who the fuck do you think you are?!"

"My name is Florence Henderson, child. I'm the head of the Sect of the True Deity. A composed circle that was made after the other Sect's failed their goals" The woman grinned softly, and held out her arms. "The Old Gods still look over this town, this Holy Land, and they guide us to salvation. Take here back to her room, Walter"

At first, Laura frowned in confusion, until she felt two blood covered hands on her shoulders. The siren blared loudly into the hospital, wailing down the corridors and into the rooms. It crawled into Laura's skin making her heart freeze in fear as it suddenly began to get darker outside. As if night had fallen. The haunting sound was like a dark shadow covering every hopeful thought Laura had of leaving.

"Shh…" Florence smiled. "No need to be afraid, child. The Attendant has arrived to serve us"

From above, Laura heard something crawl on the ceiling, erratic movements that caused bits of stone to fall from the roof. In the shadows she saw a humanoid figure. Its head twitched violently making its facial features hard to see, though there wasn't much, with just stitches where its mouth used to be, the monster didn't have a face at all. Only a serpent like tongue protruded out of its head and tasted the air. It wore royal robes, much like Florence, only more ripped and worn. It was identical with the statue that stood to the left of the shrine, and with interest, the creature crawled over its own image. Horrified, Laura leaned back into Walter who stood firmly to the ground.

"So God hasn't been lost" Florence whispered to Laura, recalling the scripture perfectly. "We must offer our prayers and not forget our faith. We wait in hope for the day when the path to Paradise will be opened"

The creature crawled along the floor, coming closer to Florence, until it stood up and extended its back. It patiently awaited an order from her, letting out small hisses that sounded like whispers to Laura's ears.

"Lobsel Vith" Florence addressed the creature. "Valtiel, the Attendant of God. Please, don't be afraid. He is here to serve our Deity. Walter, make sure she doesn't get out again"

"Yes, Sister Florence" He replied with a nod.

†

Cheryl expected the meeting to be a bit more uplifting, a gracious gathering of people who had experienced something so unbelievable, so haunting, so life changing—though not in a good way. She had so many questions she wanted to ask them all, but it was too late for that now. Her group consisted of five men who looked worn, exhausted, but from her own knowledge, she knew that they had to be strong to survive. She gripped her duffle bag tightly, she had pretty much raided her kitchen drawers, throwing into her bag a pocket knife, money, her gun, any instrument that looked like it could cause pain and an old map of Silent Hill. It was heavy, and she hoped that if they did have a run in with the police they wouldn't check her bag. From her doorstep she watched as Henry and James were introduced to the other two men, Douglas took the lead of making them talk to each other.

"Cheryl" Douglas called her over. She nodded optimistically, and locked the door behind her. "Gentlemen, this is Cheryl Mason. She was actually born in Silent Hill"

"Hello" Cheryl felt introvert and small amongst the men, but then bit her lip, not wanting to ignored or treated differently because she was the only woman here. "I'm taking it your Alex Shepherd?"

"Yeah" The brunette nodded, wondering silently to himself how she knew which one he was. "Nice meeting you. Finally"

"And…" Cheryl looked over to the man who stood next to Douglas, wearing a parker jacket that was a size too big for him.

"Murphy Pendleton, ma'am" Cheryl beamed; she liked the fact he called her ma'am.

"It's nice to meet you both, even under the circumstances" Cheryl looked over to James who was mutely suffering. "We really should be going though. I'm happy you two are willing to help with this. Even though…"

"We need to stick together" Alex assured, giving James an understanding look. He had a sense of Déjà vu when looking at James, and was close to asking him if they had met somewhere before. "We'll find your daughter"

"Thank you" James said in a monotone voice. He then looked over to Murphy. "You spoke to Laura?"

"Yeah, not for long though" Murphy put his hands in his pockets, a look of melancholy that unsettled James even more.

The blonde moved forward, trying his best to keep his calm. "Did she say anything else? Did she sound okay? She isn't hurt is she?"

"I'm sorry. I know as much as you do" Murphy cleared his throat. "She wasn't hurt. And, she said, that some people took Travis"

"Some people?" Henry repeated, and then looked over to Cheryl who nodded.

"The Order" Cheryl was right. "There's no doubt in my mind"

"The Order?" Alex scowled, simply saying the name left a bitter taste in his mouth. "How is that possible? How, I mean, how did they know it was Travis?"

"Simple" James said loudly, the truth was inevitable. "They've been watching us"

"Who are The Order?" Murphy looked baffled.

"They're the reason Wheeler's car turned to rust" Alex spat. "For everything that's been going on. It's been them. It's always been them"

"The supernatural commotion in my apartment" Henry added.

"Yours too?" Murphy asked.

"They're illusions" Cheryl expanded. "They're illusions. It's not real"

"What?" Alex asked. "But, how…"

"They're preparing for something" Cheryl dropped her bag. "Everything. Everything you've been witnessing, or felt, or heard. It's not real. It's just you"

"I don't understand" Murphy said. "There was blood pouring from our apartments tap"

"That's what it looked like to you. They've been using your fears to somehow, well, I think, to drive us a bit nuts" Cheryl sighed, unsure if the theory she had was reliable enough to share. "To make us paranoid, to drive us apart, somehow they need us to believe that these things we've been experiencing are actually happening. They want to us to be in that state of mind"

"But what for?" James asked. "Why would they want that?"

"I can't say" Cheryl swallowed. "All I know is that, Laura and Travis are being used. Well, Laura especially. I don't think they'll do anything to her. They want someone to come after her first"

"We haven't got a choice" Henry said.

"I know" Cheryl bowed her head. "I know"


End file.
